Police recruits take part in "active shooter training"

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee police recruits took part in "active shooter training" on Friday, December 14th at an empty elementary school in the metro area.

"Here today they go through a school shooter, an actual suspect in a school that’s actively killing people," said Sgt. Melissa Cwiklinski of the Tactical Enforcement Unit.

Weapons drawn, the recruits made their way down a school hallway. In this training scenario, a shot was fired and civilians ran by. The shooter is taken down.

"We put in bad guys, good guys, they have to be able to determine who’s a good guy who’s a bad guy and be able to take that suspect out," said Cwiklinski.

Recruits worked as one unit, clearing rooms and following commands.

Training was put on hold briefly on Friday when news of the Connecticut mass shooting reached the recruits. Those initial reports became part of Friday's lesson.

"During the training to have something like this happen and actually show them this is happening, this is what is occurring in our state and around the country was really, really kind of helpful," said Cwiklinski.

Experts say the top priority of law enforcement responding to an active shooter is to locate the suspect and end the threat.

"It’s a rapid movement and it’s to the exact location where the suspect is," said Brian Dorow, Dean of Criminal Justice at Waukesha County Technical College.

Similar active shooter training is also held in movie theaters, in churches and on college campuses in the area.

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