Morris County Trains First Class of School Resource Officers

Customized Course Completed by 29 Officers from 14 Police Departments

The Morris County Office of Emergency Management (OEM), in partnership with Morris County Sheriff James Gannon and his staff, launched the first Morris County School Resource Officer (SRO) Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Program for Morris County law enforcement officers last week.

“It is no different than any one of us who expects to go home to our families at the end of our shift. It is imperative that we remain prepared to ensure the same for our kids, faculty and school staff, every school day. Our Schools are safer today because of our school resource officers, and now we are enhancing our preparedness and taking it to an entirely new level,” said Sheriff Gannon.

The two-day, customized program included interactive discussions, medical skill stations and patient care simulations.  The resource officers also were brought into school environments where they experienced simulated events, thanks to the hospitality of  Morris Plains School Superintendent Mark Maire and Morris Plains Chief of Police Michael Koroski, who made the Morris Plains Borough Schools available for the training.

“Regardless of how safe our communities are, we must always be vigilant and prepared for worst case scenarios. That is how we save lives and keep our children and school staff safe. My fellow Commissioners and I are very supportive of the Morris County Office of Emergency Management’s EMS program and initiatives at the Morris County Sheriff’s Office designed to strengthen the level of preparedness and response throughout our area,” said Stephen Shaw, Director of the Morris County Board of County Commissioners.

“The overall focus of the program was to train these law enforcement officers for both the tactics and lifesaving medical interventions that may be required during an active shooter incident, or similar acts of violence at a school,” said Morris County Office of Emergency Management Director Jeffrey Paul. “We know that the number one goal is to neutralize the threat, stop the killing and minimize injuries. At the point that this is accomplished, it is critical that we move into tactical field care to save lives and this program is designed to achieve this important objective.”

The tactical portion of the program was led by the Morris County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team (SERT), with support from instructors from the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Responsible School Violence Prevention-3 Program.

The rescue and medical intervention portion of the program was taught by members of the Morris County OEM’s Special Operation Group/EMS, as well as instructors from Penn Tactical Solutions and RANT Strategies. Upon successful completion of the program, each participating officer was issued a large trauma medical and extraction system that will remain with the School Resource Officer inside the school when they are on-duty.

The 29 officers who successfully completed the program on Sept. 3 were from the following police departments:

• Chatham Borough Police Department
• Chester Police Department
• Dover Police Department
• East Hanover Police Department
• Florham Park Police Department
• Jefferson Township Police Department
• Mendham Borough Police Department
• Montville Township Police Department
• Morris Plains Police Department
• Morris Township Police Department
• Morristown Police Department
• Mount Arlington Police Department
• Pequannock Township Police Department
• Washington Township Police Department

The Morris County OEM and Sheriff’s Office issued a thank you to all the departments that sent their officers to this training program and plan to schedule additional classes for other local law enforcement agencies.