The Cortez Police Department organized and implemented an active shooter training exercise at City Hall on Wednesday, at the request of City Manager Drew Sanders. The training took place 20 days following the active shooter incident that occurred on Independence Day at the skate park across from City Hall.
“The training is an important step toward emergency response and community preparedness,” said city public information officer Kelly Codner said.
The training exercise was led by police Lt. Angelo Martinez with the help of Sgt. Brent Jarmon, Kurtiss Baumgartner and Koby Guttridge. This team developed operations plans and presented the gun range and active shooter training.
The training drill started about 1:30 p.m. A city employee, who acted as the suspected shooter, entered City Hall and fired blank gunshots inside of the building, while being accompanied by Jarmon.
The remaining city employees called 911 and practiced the run, hide, fight training they had received. They were encouraged to treat the training as a real-life scenario, according to Codner.
Montezuma-Cortez dispatch received the 911 calls and announced that shots were fired, asking officers and emergency responders to respond to City Hall. They made sure to add that the announcement was a drill and not a real active-shooter situation.
Four employees played the victim roles and some were given scripts that showed their character being injured in the shooting. This allowed emergency services who responded to act according to the injury sheets.
“City of Cortez Director of Human Resources Matt Cashner was told he would not survive his fatal wounds, making light of the situation, but also giving significance to the potential fatalities in this type of event,” Codner said.
The training was created with the goal of helping employees prepare for emergency situations and to teach them how best to handle the panic that can come in an emergency scenario such as this. Employees were able to practice staying calm, responding quickly, planning an exit route, finding places to hide and what items they could use in case they were required to fight for their life.
“Safety drills such as this one allows for multiple teams to collaborate, identify issues and refine protocols, leading to better coordination during real emergencies,” Codner finished.
The participating agencies were Cortez City Hall, Cortez Police Department, Cortez Fire Protection District, Montezuma-Cortez Dispatch, Montezuma County Office of Emergency Management, Southwest Health System Emergency Medical Services and the Community Intervention Program team.
