Poteau Schools human resources officer tells Rotary Club ways to increase security
Poteau Public Schools Human Resources Officer James Lowe shared with the Poteau Rotary Club during its weekly meeting July 20 at Eastern Oklahoma Medical Center how he underwent new training to help increase security measures after such shootings like the one May 24 at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
“We just recently went through some training about two weeks ago,” Lowe said. “The training we went through is something that myself went further into it to be instructors in this course. It’s called ‘Avoid, Deny, Defend.’ It’s through an ALERRT (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training) program. This training is something that we’re able to train to the public, our teachers and to churches, and we will not charge for it. At the SeventhEighth Grade Academic Center, all the doors open out into the corridor, which is a fire code. One thing we’re teaching our people is to avoid and deny them getting inside. Shut the lights off and get inside the classroom. All of our classrooms have a narrow-vision light in their doors, so you can go by and see what’s going on. If I’m an active shooter, I want to see where people are inside that classroom. They’re also taking chairs down by the lock and twist it over, so it secures that door. That’s also denying access, or defend. If there was an active shooter in this room, and you were not armed, you can see multiple weapons you could use. In a classroom setting, use anything as a weapon. Anything you get your hands on can be used against an active shooter.”
Ever since the tragic Columbine (Colo.) School shooting that took place April 20, 1999, Lowe said that was when officers’ training for such events increased got way more intense.
“Since Columbine (School shootings in Colorado) happened in our nation caused us to do our training locally and we now respond in a totally different way,” he said. “Since Columbine, this program we’ve been training with (ALERRT) is nationwide. If we have, God forbid, an active shooter situation at Poteau Schools, our campuses are so spread out. We don’t have a large city, but besides two of them (PHS and the SeventhEighth Grade Academic Center) share property, but the others ones are located around different parts of the city. Responding to an active-shooter situation is going to be a nightmare.”
Lowe talked about a new app that also will help out officers.
“It’s called the ‘Panic App,’” he said. “We downloaded this. All of our lawenforcement officers in Poteau have this app. We’re doing a training with teachers Aug. 8, in which we will reiterate for them to download this app. What this does is every school in Poteau school district is under a geoNET. If I have this app, I’m in a classroom and there’s an active shooter, I can tap that button, and it’s automatically going to notify 911 and every officer that has that app. It’s going to let the officers responding know that teacher Jane Doe is in the Seventh-Eighth Grade Academic Center, but it won’t be precise as to what room. If I punch ‘resources’ (button), it brings up all of our (Poteau district) schools. If I tap ‘Poteau High School,’ It will bring up a floor plan of Poteau High School. If I’m a responding officer and I’ve never stepped foot into Poteau High School before, I can pull this resource up and know where offices and classrooms are.”
If such an event would happen, there would likely be more than just Poteau Police Department officers responding.
“If there is an active shooter in LeFlore County, every law-enforcement officer will respond,” Lowe said. “If we have an active shooter at Poteau High School, responding officers may not only be Poteau Police Department. There may be responders from the LeFlore County Sheriff’s Department, parole officers, game wardens, OBN (Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics) and surrounding agencies like from Shady Point, Panama and Wister. They’re all going to respond. When we respond, we’ve been training on this ALERRT program, and we all train the same way throughout the nation. We are going to the shooter. Our job is to stop the shooter. Stop the attack. Then, we go see about rending help and things like that. I that case, we’re also utilizing fire departments and EMS (Emergency Medical Services) to help come in and remove wounded people.”
Lowe expressed the biggest thing the general public can do to prevent them from being a victim.
“Start going through your mind,” he said. “What’s going to take place if there is an active shooter here. Where are the exits? Where will I leave (exit) this place? If I’m denied this exit, where am I going to go? Are there exits to the back room or kitchen or behind the sanctuary? Where are the exits? That’s the first thing you want to do. You do not want to be a victim. You want to get out of there. Look for your exits and outlets.”