Unsuspecting middle school students terrified by active shooter drill.

This is uncool. With everything going on now-a-days with school shootings and the like how is it in any way alright for police to do this? Or is this simply more of the "totalitarian tip-toe" in action?

Police officers in Florida surprised students, teachers and parents Thursday with an active shooter drill. And by “active shooter drill,” we mean that a Winter Haven middle school went into lockdown as two armed police officers burst into classrooms, guns drawn, leaving the unsuspecting children terrified — and their parents furious.

According to Fox affiliate WTVT, officials at Jewett Middle Academy e-mailed parents to inform them of the drill, after it took place. By that point, WTVT reports, cellphones were already filling up with texts from frightened students, who thought there was a real shooter in the school.

Polk county sheriffs said: “Unfortunately, no one gets an advanced notice of real life emergencies,” Well, that's true but is that any real excuse to go into this school with almost no warning?

Stacy Ray told WTVT that she received a text from her seventh-grade daughter Lauren Marionneaux after two armed officers burst into her classroom. Winter Haven police told The Post that one of the officers had his duty firearm – a handgun – drawn. The gun was loaded, as required. The other officer was carrying an unloaded AR-15. According to Ray, one of her other children texted: “I thought he was going to shoot me.”

I don't care if the officer's side arm was required to be loaded or not there is NO excuse for pointing a loaded gun at innocent students. I have heard of enough accidental shootings to realize this, yet the Polk county sheriffs office can't rationalize this.

Appearantly surprise "attacker readiness" drills are the norm in some departments.

In another, a former employee at a Colorado nursing home said she was traumatized by an attacker readiness drill, during which an armed gunman “forced her into an empty room.” According to the Journal’s report, the officer acting as a gunman in this situation thought the employees there were informed about the drill. He identified himself as an officer after seeing her reaction, but the employee “was so overwhelmed that she didn’t know whether to believe the officer’s assurances that he really was a policeman.”

It all seems like an erosion of our rights to me. Slowly getting us ready for a total police state wherein the law is the only absolute and we have no rights.

washingtonpost

a reply to: CagliostroTheGreat

by “active shooter drill,” we mean that a Winter Haven middle school went into lockdown as two armed police officers burst into classrooms, guns drawn, leaving the unsuspecting children terrified — and their parents furious.

Thats about as low as fear mongering gets.

Nice, I hope the department gets their butts sued off for the years of therapy some of these kids may need due to the traumatic emotional distress they caused.

Next they will set the school on fire so they can have more realistic fire drills.

And my 8th grader was asking me just last night why the world seems so tense and angry these days. Just add this event to a long list explaining why.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: CagliostroTheGreat

by “active shooter drill,” we mean that a Winter Haven middle school went into lockdown as two armed police officers burst into classrooms, guns drawn, leaving the unsuspecting children terrified — and their parents furious.

Thats about as low as fear mongering gets.

Maybe they are trying to desensitize the kids getting them used to seeing this kind of crap happening with our law enforcement

I can't believe they didn't have enough respect for the parents to alert them to the drill
That was a lame excuse the sheriff gave regarding no one gets an advanced notice of real life emergencies

What he said was true but the way they went about this was all wrong
The parents at least should have been notified about plans for this type of drill

" Unsuspecting middle school students terrified by active shooter drill "

Sounds like the drill was a success.

Mission accomplished.

a reply to: CagliostroTheGreat

What an F-d up world we live in where we need to have these kinds of drills....some of the parents of the members hid under desks due to a nuclear war scenario (because that would shield them) and now our children our getting the crapped scared out of them in these screwed up scenarios...we always find a way to out do ourselves don't we.

Like we needed another reason to home school our children.
I would bet this won't happen to any schools where some of the parents are cops.

a reply to: CagliostroTheGreat

Ok so I’m guessing this one started along the lines of;

Chief Wiggum– “So, we’re going to be doing a little training today in the form of an active shooter drill. That means loaded weapons the whole shooting match, everyone got that”.

Officer Clueless – “Yes Chief, got that. What about the kids?”

Chief Wiggum – “What kids?”

Officer Clueless – “The kids at the school?”

Chief Wiggum – “What about them?”

Officer Clueless – “Do they know we’re coming?”

Chief Wiggum – “Why would we let them know Clueless?, this is for our benefit not theirs you idiot.”

Kind Regards
Myselfaswell

a reply to: CagliostroTheGreat

Conditioning. There's no other reason. It's just like all the bomb threats at schools. They've been out of control with multiple bomb threats every week. The police state is almost here. You guys ready to be the new Nazi's?

Act of terrorism. Plain and simple.

Next they will be doing home invasion drills to see who is prepared.
Whoever thought this up needs to have his brain checked to see if it's even there.

That is totally unacceptable. The sheriff and anyone instrumental in orchestrating that should be immediately dismissed from office.

I'd even go so far as to say the sheriff should be charged with an act of terrorism. That could have caused someone to have a seizure or heart attack or seriously injure themselves in panic.

That kind of thing should never, ever happen unannounced I don't care what his reasoning was.

Sorry for the one liner but

You can't fix STUPID

a reply to: CagliostroTheGreat

Florida is a conceal carry state. Next time, maybe some teacher will be packing (forgot to leave her gun in the car) and shoot the police. They would deserve it in this situation since they did not inform anyone. If they want to practice, do it on a Saturday when the kids are gone, or ask a few kids to volunteer for the weekend practice. I hope the parents are raising holy hell with the police.

So if a teacher was legally carrying a weapon and shot the cops, what then?

They have every right to fire on the gun carrying idiots if protecting their students.

Also, what would happen if the cops fired back and injured the teacher or even killed him/her? Or a student gets caught in the crossfire?

Peace

The only positive here is the drill didn't go "Live" like 911, or the London Subway Bombings of 07/07/05, and of course Sandy Hook.

Congratulations Florida police department. All you did was teach these kids that cops are total, grade A jerks that think bursting into classrooms and making children believe their lives are in danger is somehow a good thing.

As though we in the United States live in an active war zone or something.

I just saw on the news that the Polk county sheriff's office has issued a statement saying they will no longer have weapons drawn during future drills...

Freaking idiots...



Should have never had them drawn in the first damn place! I mean, IS THAT NOT COMMON SENSE!? when you go into a school for an active shooter drill you just do not poin the guns at the kids, especially the loaded ones!

Pff...

I need a drink.

Pointing a loaded gun at anything but a target is a breach of firearm safety.
I can guarantee you they never use loaded weapons when practicing against each other in tactical drills.
"Loaded as required"?
That's the biggest line of BS I've ever heard in my life.
Sue the crap out of them and fire whoever set this insanity up.
I think criminal charges of terrorism would be appropriate too.

a reply to: snarky412

I can't believe they didn't have enough respect for the parents to alert them to the drill
That was a lame excuse the sheriff gave regarding no one gets an advanced notice of real life emergencies

Hey, maybe we should have a terrorist drill outside the police station and see how they like it. Just kidding. They would have a freaking heart attack and kill everyone for miles around.