Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Members of the South Central Emergency Response Team, also known as SWAT, went room to room with fake guns drawn inside the Saint Michael the Archangel School in Tullytown’s Levittown section on Thursday morning.
The SWAT response was part of a drill to prepare officers for how to handle active shooter calls.
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Officers from Bristol, Penndel and Tullytown boroughs took part in the training.
While active shooter calls are rare, Acting Tullytown Police Chief Daniel Doyle said officers need to know how to handle them.
“The officers are constantly improving their skills by practicing for the worst case scenario,” he added.
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“Put your hands up! Stand Up! Turn Around! Put your hands on your head,” an officer yelled at a “suspect” in one of the classrooms. The suspect was taken into custody and the school was secured.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
SWAT members carried fake weapons and practiced several different scenarios throughout the school building for several hours Thursday morning.
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Doyle said Tullytown law enforcement officers all go through similar training in an effort to keep current. He added that police officers also complete plenty of other regular training on how to deal with dangerous situations.
Tullytown officers have hosted other training sessions at Walt Disney Elementary School and a charter school in the borough. Doyle said the department regularly maintains a presence at the schools.
The large amount of police vehicles outside the private school drew several stares from passing motorists.
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The acting chief said he wanted to extend his thanks to the officials at the three schools for letting police train at their facilities.
