CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — Its summer break for students in Charlotte County but for School Resource Officers (SROs) who are sent to protect these schools during the school year, their days in the classroom aren't over.
On Thursday, over 30 Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office SROs were trained inside Lemon Bay High School using active-shooter scenarios.
Lieutenant Jon Waterhouse, who is the Commander over all SROs in the county, told Fox 4 during Thursday’s training, real-life scenarios are the best way to train against school threats.
“The best way to train is live scenarios. Hearing the screams, hearing the loud noises,” said Waterhouse. All sights and sounds Waterhouse said a School Resource Officer could encounter during a real threat but in a controlled environment inside Lemon Bay High School.
Lieutenant Jason Zakowich with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office told Fox 4 it’s his job to train SROs to be ready to handle a threat at any moment. “We use loud rounds or simulation rounds which are paint rounds,” said Zakowich, “We want them to respond as if maybe they are covering for this school and they don't know the layout,” he said.
Zakowich told Fox 4, this year they’ve brought in members from their real-time information center, who Zakowich said during a real-life threat would help guide officers through a school.
“They’re actively looking at the video cameras as we are going through and helping direct deputies inside,” said Zakowich. It’s all in preparation for a moment deputies said they hope will never happen, but are prepared to handle because of these training sessions.
“I have children in the Charlotte County Public Schools so it is equally as important to me as it is to any other citizen in this county so we treat all this as real as possible and we make sure everyone is equally trained,” said Lieutenant Jon Waterhouse.
