For four days this week, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office hosted several area law enforcement agencies for specialized active shooter training.
Georgia State Patrol Corporal Nick Jenkins was one of the instructors and said the officers were taught the ALERRT (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training) program, which is designed to evolve with each new mass shooting event. The program was developed b Texas State University, according to Jenkins.
"We look at each of these events and we try to learn from these events - what can we do as law enforcement and first responders," Jenkins said.
Attendees were drilled with life-like scenarios and then debriefed on what they learned from each one.
Unlike many scenario training courses, ALERRT uses airsoft pistols. While not fatal, rounds from an airsoft will leave a welt and can draw blood.
Police officers from Commerce, Braselton, Jefferson and Lavonia, along with deputies from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, took part in the program, which was staged at the old Benton Elementary School in Nicholson.
Listen at 5:20 Friday afternoon to the Afternoon News Wrap on WDUN AM 550 or FM 102.9 to find out more about the training event.
