East Bay officers receive active shooter training
August 3, 2016
CSU East Bay’s University Police Department officers received training on how to respond to active shooter situations on campus on Monday and Tuesday.
The training was facilitated by the Public Safety Training Institute, a nonprofit organization that trains law enforcement and fire personnel throughout California on emergency response protocols in active shooter and mass casualty scenarios.
An Active Shooter Incidents law passed in California in 2014 requires law enforcement and fire department officials to be trained together to respond active shooter response situations.
The training consisted of eight hours of lecture on California law practices and policies on Monday in the campus library, and eight hours of scenario-based training at the Pioneer Heights residence hall on Tuesday, according to Mike Elerick, founder and president of PSTI and coordinator of the event.
Officers from the Hayward Police Department, Hayward Fire, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department, Alameda County Fire, Oakland Fire, Santa Rosa Police, South San Francisco Fire, Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department, Emeryville Police Department and San Francisco Sheriff’s Department attended the training, according to Elerick.
“I took advantage of hosting it so UPD could be involved with training in our own backyard,” UPD Chief of Police Sheryl Boykins told the Pioneer. “This was important given the current climate we live in.” Boykins said she values training and collaborating with “allied agencies,” such as the city of Hayward and Alameda County first responders.
The courses were developed by PSTI officials and are certified by California Peace Officers Standards and Training and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, according to Elerick. PSTI officers are made up of current or retired law enforcement supervisors and managers with long-term SWAT, tactical and public safety training backgrounds.
PSTI is contracted with the Department of Homeland Security, which fully funded the training through the Bay Area Urban Area Security Initiative grant program, according to Elerick. Attendees were required to be first responders working within the 12 counties that make up the BAUASI to qualify for the event. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Department manages this grant program.
PSTI also offers training to the Riverside UASI, Sacramento UASI and Santa Ana and Anaheim UASI programs. PSTI facilitates training for the California Office of Traffic Safety and provides training to school faculty in elementary schools, colleges, universities and in the private sector.
This is the first time this event has taken place at East Bay, Elerick confirmed.
