web1_gavel.jpg

Man accused of killing another motorist while allegedly driving under influence of methamphetamine prepared to plead guilty

web1_TTL012116forever.home_.jpg

LCCC clubs support Brandon’s Forever Home in Hazleton

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; &#8220;Active shooter&#8221; trainings have become almost commonplace locally, with recent sessions at <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/local/372861/reporter-trades-notepad-for-weapon-to-help-police-train-at-pittston-area-middle-school" target="_blank">Pittston Area </a> and <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/500850/luzerne-county-law-enforcement-agencies-hold-active-shooter-training" target="_blank">Crestwood</a> school districts, but Wilkes University hopes to take it to a higher level, beginning with four days of training this week on campus.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;d like to see everyone in the area have similar response tactics,&#8221; said Wilkes University Public Safety Director Christopher Jagoe. This week&#8217;s sessions, which ended Thursday, were for active shooter scenarios, but Jagoe hopes to arrange other advanced sessions, ultimately leading to &#8220;train the trainer&#8221; events where local officers become trainers themselves, making it easier to hold more local programs.</p><p>Wilkes used a variety of taxpayer-funded sources to sponsor the event at no charge to participants. Along with all Wilkes public security officers who carry guns &#8212; about half or roughly two dozen &#8212; security officers from King&#8217;s College and police officers from at least five area departments attended.</p><p>The university researched available options and picked Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training, which Jagoe said is widely recognized as the best in the nation, having trained more than 80,000 officers.</p><p>Jagoe said the four trainers included two from Texas, one from Maryland and one from the FBI. &#8220;The two from Texas did not like the weather they found up here,&#8221; Jagoe quipped.</p><p>About 60 participants trained in two groups of 30 for two days each. Wilkes Public Safety Lt. Don Noble said he took the course the first two days and it was so intense &#8220;it was like drinking water out of a fire hose.&#8221;</p><p>Trainees are given relatively short classroom work, then sent into a currently-empty building playing different parts in different scenarios. All were provided with handguns the same size and weight as real weapons but with different barrel diameters so they couldn&#8217;t shoot real ammo and blue-colored tops.</p><p>Jagoe noted all officers began in a &#8220;sanitized&#8221; room. And no, that doesn&#8217;t mean copious bottles of Purell.</p><p>&#8220;They get patted down twice to make sure they have no live weapons,&#8221; Jagoe said, recounting an incident in Maryland where an officer was accidentally shot with live ammo during a training session.</p><p>The ammo magazines &#8212; &#8220;They&#8217;re not clips,&#8221; Jagoe said, &#8220;a clip is what you wear in your hair&#8221; &#8212; hold small &#8220;simunitions&#8221; that fire what amounts to a tiny paintball with an accuracy of about 25 yards, more than enough for practice in such a confined space.</p><p>And, yes, they leave a mark beyond the blue stain on your clothes. Noble pulled up his pant cuff to show a small bruise from a hit during his two days of training. He also got shot in the helmet, supplied with a full visor, an experience he said makes a person re-evaluate preparedness.</p><p>&#8220;If it had been real, I would never see my mom again, and she&#8217;d never see me.&#8221;</p><p>Along with the helmets, officers received strapped-on collars that look a bit like an armored dickey, but much of their other garb was self-provided. &#8220;Notice the groin protection,&#8221; one officer, who could not give his name due to department policy, said while pointing to a towel dangling from his belt. &#8220;It works, too!&#8221;</p><p>Jagoe said it&#8217;s important to ramp up local training because those seeking to do harm are getting more sophisticated, with terrorists offering lessons in mass killings using automatic rifles and Improvised Explosive Devices.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re ahead of the curve in this area in some ways,&#8221; Jagoe said. &#8220;But in other ways, we&#8217;re behind.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL012216active-shooter1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes University hosted four-days of &#8216;active shooter&#8217; police training this week by Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL012216active-shooter1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes University hosted four-days of &#8216;active shooter&#8217; police training this week by Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL012216active-shooter3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Instructors Mike Carroll of the Houston Police Department and FBI Special Agent Mike Gallante reload simulation guns during Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training for active shooter scenarios at Wilkes University Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL012216active-shooter3.jpg</photo1><caption1>Instructors Mike Carroll of the Houston Police Department and FBI Special Agent Mike Gallante reload simulation guns during Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training for active shooter scenarios at Wilkes University Thursday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL012216active-shooter2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes University was host to an active shooter police training session this week training given by Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/web1_TTL012216active-shooter2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Wilkes University was host to an active shooter police training session this week training given by Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes University hosts 4-day active shooter training for area police