<\/p>\n
O<\/span>n a scorchingly hot day this summer, University Police\u00a0 <\/span>\u2014\u00a0 <\/span>drenched in sweat beneath full tactical gear\u00a0 <\/span>\u2014\u00a0 <\/span>cautiously but deliberately advanced through the narrow stairwells and tight corridors of EWU\u2019s Morrison Hall. Thankfully, this hyper-realistic hunt for an active shooter was purely instructional.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Led by Sgt. Nick Bickley, firearms and armor instructor, and Officer Greg Karlis, defense tactics instructor, the \u201cincident response\u201d exercise was one of many forms of training that Eastern\u2019s finest use to keep students safe.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n During this summer\u2019s training event, the men and women in blue did their work while outfitted in bullet proof vests weighing 30-plus pounds. As they moved through the decommissioned dormitory, the air, stifling and still, weighed heavy. The lack of air conditioning was intentional \u2014 battling back against heat, exhaustion and adrenaline overload is often part of the challenge when responding to life-threatening situations.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe train to address the threat,\u201d says Jewell Day, the university\u2019s chief of police, adding that the officers not only learn to persevere in tough conditions, they gain the skills and confidence it takes to advance on their own without having to wait for the team.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because of the pandemic, this is the first time that those officers have gone through active shooter training. \u201cWe wanted to make sure we are all operating from the same baseline,\u201d Day says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Additionally, the department has added five new employees over the past two years. Because of the pandemic, this is the first time that those officers have gone through active shooter training. \u201cWe wanted to make sure we are all operating from the same baseline,\u201d Day says.<\/span><\/p>\n Unfortunately, \u201cactive shooter\u201d emergencies are not uncommon. University campuses, while typically among the nation\u2019s very safest of places, have in the past been targeted.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Day says that the department has trained for such threats for the entire 15 years he has been with the force. When, for example, the state of Washington implemented new use-of-force requirements for officers last year, the department was already following those procedures. \u201cIt\u2019s not something that\u2019s new to us. It\u2019s just who we are,\u201d Day says.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" University Police sweat the details of keeping students safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":484,"featured_media":1704,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-1703","stories","type-stories","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","stories_categories-campus","stories_tags-fall-winter-2022-23"],"acf":{"subheading":"","featured_image_format":"cover","display_byline":false,"display_date_published":false,"featured_video":"","Links":false,"Resources":false,"page_hide_sidebar":false,"page_enable_page_nav":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/1703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/stories"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/484"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/1703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1757,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/stories\/1703\/revisions\/1757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test-www.ewu.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\nThat team, says Day, includes 13 officers who train throughout the year, typically going through every building on campus to become familiar with its layout. This summer\u2019s training was designed to build foundational skills. Revisiting these skills was particularly important in the wake of Covid-19, which put a halt to these annual training exercises.<\/span><\/p>\n