FAIRMONT — Seventeen Robeson County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officers participated in training Wednesday at the Robeson Community College Law Enforcement Training Center.
“This is probably one of the most important trainings we do as law enforcement. We’ve got to protect our children,” said Lewis Woodard, NC DPS Training Coordinator at Robeson Community College.
The law enforcement training center, which was formerly Green Grove Elementary School, allowed law enforcement officers to train in a school setting as they worked to clear classrooms filled with desks and mannequins.
School Resource Officers and some sheriff’s deputies participated in solo scenarios at the center. Officers had to navigate a hallway filled with smoke and simulated sounds of gunshots and children in distress. Later, School Resource Officers also navigated the area in team formations.
“They’ve got to be ready to respond at any minute to a situation that might happen while they’re there,” said Lt. Ricky Williams, Training Coordinator with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office. “They’ve got to be prepared and they’ve got to be ready to go. This just reinforces what they already know.”
“You have to locate, isolate, contain and stop the shooter,” Woodard said.
The training session also included the use of simunition rounds, which consist of plastic pellets filled with soap. The simunition rounds and simulated sounds add a more realistic layer to the training.
Each year, trainers work to add more elements to make the simulation more realistic, Woodard said.
“The only way to perfect this type of training is to make it as realistic as possible,” Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said.
“While we pray we never have to respond to such a situation, Robeson County Sheriff’s deputies to include SROs stand ready to respond and take immediate action to stop the threat. Our agency and Robeson Community College have been proactive in providing this training for many years and will continue to do so,” Wilkins added.
The training was made possible through a partnership with Robeson Community College and the Robeson Sheriff’s Office.
The Public Schools of Robeson County partners with multiple law enforcement agencies throughout the county to provide SROs at schools.
“These men and women serve and protect each day at our schools and make our campuses safer places to learn,” said PSRC Superintendent Dr. Freddie Williamson. “We are grateful for this valuable training given to our School Resource Officers ahead of the school year and I want to personally thank our law enforcement partners and Robeson Community College for making this training available.”