The city of Kent is, and continues to improve active shooter safety at schools

Today, the city of Kent and its emergency resources are more than prepared to react to an active shooter situation, if one were to ever occur. From Davey elementary school on North Prospect St., to Kent State University’s main campus, Kent’s police department, fire department, and more have been trained and ready for any situation that might ever occur.

Kent State has already been ranked as the 11th safest campus in the country, thanks to new improvements and motives set forth by the city and its emergency services, such as the new police department building, completed in 2017. But before, and ever since the shooting which took place on Kent State University’s campus on April 2nd, 2014, Kent’s emergency services have gone above and beyond what most city’s do, in order to make sure the city’s schools and students are safe in their classrooms.

Administrative Lieutenant Michael Lewis of Kent’s police department said, “our response to [school shootings] is very fluid. We’re always looking at ways to improve our response.”

“Ever since Columbine happened, its really been on the forefront of the minds,” Lewis said.

Kent State University Police Department (KSUPD) Officer Trisha Knowles, who has served on Kent’s campus for 13 years now, acknowledges that KSU’s campus is unique, and that if targeted, an active shooter situation there would be drastic. That’s why she, and the entire force at KSUPD is dedicated to making active shooter training and prevention one of their top priorities.

KSUPD’s militarized style of training allows officers to fully understand their roles and duties if a situation were to ever occur. At least twice year, KSUPD, and surrounding emergency services, hold mock-drills in which active shooter situations are simulated. Although it takes a large amount of collaboration, Knowles believes that having all entities prepared is the key to keeping everyone as safe and secure as possible.

“For active shooter incidents, as far as our approach,” Knowles said. “We train for active shooters every month here.”

Knowles recognizes that if a situation were to occur, that it is important that all entities involved know exactly what to do, because time is a real factor in these dangerous situations.

KSUPD trains with Kent’s police department, as well as those from Brimfield Police, Stow Police, the Portage County Sheriffs Department, and many more. Being able to coordinate with these departments hands on, allows all parties involved to be more prepared for any possible situation.

“We train solo entry,” Knowles said. “So first officer on scene, you go in, then comes the second officer on scene. That’s why we train because we need to know where the first officer is, so when the second one comes in, there could be a crossfire possibly.”

Lieutenant Lewis, is a prime example of how this collaboration works. He was the first officer on scene during Kent’s 2014 shooting incident.

“I saw excellent response,” Lewis said. “If something like that happens we get a lot of support from surrounding agencies.”

Because Lewis was able to react, and had prior collaborative training, him and the other responders were able to secure the situation with no harm done to others.

City collaboration is also why Kent’s Fire Department, has now become one of the first fire departments in the state, and nation, to have active shooter training along side the police departments.

“Studies show that the majority of active shooter situations are done and over within two minutes,” Knowles said, which is reason why they want other emergency responders and paramedics to be ready as soon as they possibly can, in order to help those in need as quickly as possible.

Other entities like the SWAT Metro police, and even the Kent State Health Center, are all trained in what they need to do in response to an active shooter situation.

It is because of this collaboration and dedication to training, that Knowles and Lewis believe this will provide the key to school safety in Kent.

Lewis, who is also a certified alert, lockdown, information, counter and evacuation (ALICE) instructor, goes to elementary and high schools around the Kent area, teaching students and assisting them in active shooter drills.

“We go to every school within the city a few times a year,” Lewis said. “We witness and take part in their state required drills.” The state requires lockdown drills, and evacuation drills at all K-12 schools. Lewis said sometimes, its beneficial that they train for both scenarios at the same time.

Although it is important that emergency responders and students are all trained in what to do in the event of an active shooter situation, there has been a growing effort and emphasis to prevent these incidents before they happen.

“We try to do as much crime prevention as possible,” Knowles said, which heavily includes active shooter safety and prevention. The authority’s main sources for this prevention however, lies with the students, faculty, and parents, who are immersed with everybody throughout the entire year.

About four years ago a Pennsylvania native Kent State student, who was browsing through her Facebook, found a video of a senior from her old high school. “She saw a YouTube video of someone she knew, who was still a senior in her high school,” Knowles said. He’d gotten held back.

“So he posted a video of him with a gun saying he was going to kill all these people, don’t come to the high school tomorrow because Im shooting you all up,” Knowles said. “It had 2300 views.”

The Kent State student watched the video and thought this guy wouldn’t, and wasn’t capable of doing this.

“She called our department just in case,” Knowles said. “We called their local police department, sent them the video, which gave them cause to get a warrant to search the kid’s house. He had enough ammunition, several fire arms, a homemade explosive device, a suicide note, a manifesto he wrote and a list of people he wanted to kill.”

He had the means and he had planned extensively, and this girl, who was a couple hundred miles away, saw this video, called, and probably saved the lives of dozens. She later won the state of Ohio award for see something say something. “Who knows how many people lives she saved because she said something,” Knowles said.

Although this did not happen in the city of Kent, it proves that Kent’s motivation to get students and citizens involved, that if “you see something, say something,” is actually an effective technique. This is a concept that drives and motivates student and others, to report bizarre or dangerous behavior to a superior of some kind, from a teacher, to a coach, to a police officer.

“Things are always changing and always evolving so we have to be on top of that,” Knowles said. “Are we doing enough right now? We’re doing as much as we can and we’re always looking to improve.”

Kent’s emergency resources, as well as surrounding areas in Portage county, will continue to train in the future in order to be prepared for any situation that might occur.