CALERA, Ala. — As the first day of school approaches, the Calera Police Department is intensifying its preparations for potential active shooter scenarios. Police Chief David Hyche emphasized the department’s focus during Thursday’s training exercises, stating, “Our job is to get in here and stop the killing so that’s all we’re focusing on.”
The training, which includes realistic simulations with the sounds of screams and gunshots, aims to prepare officers for the traumatic realities they may face. “That’s something you can’t replicate is stepping over kids that have been shot and that’s happened in these situations,” Hyche said.
Every member of the department, including dispatchers, is required to undergo thorough training to ensure their response becomes instinctive. “We want to stop the killing as fast as possible and I want my officers to have the confidence to know that if they go through that door and engage that shooter that they’re better than he is and they can take him out,” Hyche said.
Unlike some departments that train to search and clear every room, Calera officers are trained to go directly to the source of gunfire. “We do it a little different than some other agencies do. We just focus on stopping the killing and our training is one to three officer response with nothing but focusing on repeating training scenarios on stopping the shooting,” Hyche explained.
Calera has eight school resource officers, ensuring one or two are present at each school at all times. Additionally, all patrol officers are required to check in and walk around a school once a day, providing an extra layer of security. “If you come to one of our schools in Calera and you plan to do harm you don’t know if you’re going to encounter two SROs or two officers that are there for lunch or three officers that just stopped by to walk through during the day,” Hyche said.
The department has also equipped every officer with a bulletproof shield for use in active shooter situations, funded by grant money awarded to the department.
