BOZEMAN – The law enforcement officers in our community are going through some intense training this week.
The Police Department at Montana State University is hosting an active shooter training. It’s four days of simulated, real-life situations that could happen at any second.
According to MSU Chief of Police Frank Parrish, “The simulations allow us to hear the gunfire go off, to feel the pain of the round hitting our bare skin. It really brings a lot of reality to the training, which is super important.”
Fortunately, it hasn’t happened in the Bozeman community but the officers must keep their skills honed.
“The training is really important. It’s unfortunate that we have to go through this time of training because of the environment we live in but the facts are we have to be prepared and we have to be prepared to protect our students at all costs,” Parrish said.
It’s not only MSU officers that are in the training.
“We have Bozeman Police, Montana Highway Patrol, FBI agents who are taking it for the first time, Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office are training with us because in reality that’s what it’s going to look like in a real situation. It’s going to be one or two officers from different agencies so we have to be able to work together as a team,” Parrish said.
This active shooter training is something that the law enforcement here in Bozeman does every year to keep their skills up to date and to keep our people safe.
Chief Parrish said he and his team are always thinking about what they would do if an active shooter situation occurred anywhere on campus.
The training is continuing through Friday and if you see increased police presence on campus don’t be alarmed.
Reporting by Emma Hamilton for MTN News
