FBI holds active shooter training for Louisiana police chiefs
SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) - Fighting back against mass shootings involves a lot of planning and training. And that's exactly what was on the agenda at a special 3 day gathering in Shreveport this week.
Mass shootings in the U.S. spiked in 2017 with the most incidents and the most people killed in at least the last 17 years. That's why The FBI conducts training courses, in this case to police chiefs from across Louisiana gathered here in Shreveport at the convention center downtown.
"Critical to the success of law enforcement in general is to build a partnership and share intelligence. That's what we're all about," explained Eric Rommal, the FBI Special Agent in Charge for Louisiana.
Rommal told us such conferences can have real world benefits like the class he taught while in Washington D.C., shortly before the naval yard shooting that killed 12 people back in 2013.
"Had it not been for previous relationships already built with our state, local and federal partners I believe that that situation would have been even worse than it was," said Rommal.
Fabian Blache, Junior is the executive director of the Louisiana Association of Chiefs of Police, the group that organized and hosted this conference.
Blache said of the 313 police departments in Louisiana, only about two dozen or so have the resources for a crisis management plan and corresponding team.
He said that is why such conferences are even more important for the smaller police forces. Such training by the FBI instructs police departments on the best ways to handle an active shooter situation.
"How to respond to a situation like that, when to respond, how to respond and if to respond."
Blache concluded that this kind of training also tells smaller police departments better assess what they can and cannot handle on their own.
"They have to respond. But do you enter that if you don't have the equipment. All your going to do is be another casualty."
As for specific information and strategies for dealing with an active shooter organizers told us they did not want to give out too much information that could, in any way, hurt law enforcement efforts.
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