CSPD emergency response training exercise at Colorado College
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — Local law enforcement is taking action to make sure they and the community are prepared.
The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) performed an emergency response training exercise on the Colorado College (CC) campus Wednesday afternoon, April 24, with no warning to students or staff.
“We wanted campus safety as well as some of our officers to be as on their toes as possible and to practice what that initial response looks like,” said Caitlin Ford, CSPD Sr. Public Communications Specialist.
The scenario was based on a suspicious package and potential bomb threat at the Ed Robson Arena. CSPD partnered with CC and the regional bomb squad, who activated a mini bomb detector robot, which cleared the arena’s perimeter. That unit and additional officers then cleared the inside.
“I think training is needed all the time,” Ford explained. “Whether it’s for just the CC staff or whether it’s for us, we want to make sure that we’re as prepared as possible. In the unfortunate event that we do have to respond to something like this.”
Despite the surprise to students and staff, CC declared the drill a success, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to improve.
“To be honest with you, the big issues that we need to improve on is Microsoft teams,” said Alexa Gromko, Director of External Relations and Editorial Content at CC. “Not everyone got the message and that is eye opening because that shows you, you know, I’ve got to make sure that teams is functioning on my phone, that everything is smooth, that all of those communication tools that we need to be able to do this kind of work are working and we know where they are.”
Many students approached FOX21 News and asked what’s happening, they said they were thankful for the training and CSPD’s response.
“I think it’s important, especially because of where our country currently is right now with lots of like violence on campuses and violence in areas of like education and academic settings,” said Sophia Murphy, a freshman at CC. “I think in order for our safety it’s really important.”
“Knowing that they’re taking action to avoid situations similar to that is reassuring,” said Benjamin Laschever, another freshman. “I do think letting the community know in advance could be helpful just because it was a confusing situation.”
CSPD officers said this is just as much practice for them as it is for those on campus.
“We wanted them to kind of be a little bit caught off guard, respond to it as if they, you know, they didn’t know what was happening, so they needed to figure out exactly what was happening,” Ford explained. “Then shortly after that, we made sure that they knew this was a drill. So, we didn’t want to cause panic of course, across the campus.”
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