DSUSD partners with Sheriff’s Department for active shooter training

Desert Sands Unified School District welcomed the Riverside County Sheriff's Department to one of its campuses Saturday morning to practice emergency responses.

The Sheriff’s Department transformed Palm Desert Charter Middle School into an active school shooter scene for training purposes.

“We're trying to expose staff to the stress inoculation part," said Dean Agnoletto, captain at the Palm Desert Sheriff’s station. "It's not so much the physical exertion, it's the mental exertion that they'll experience in these environments.”

Staff at the Palm Desert station do this type of training twice a month. 15 officers from the station took part in Saturday's training.

“It's pretty eye-opening, and when you actually go through it, you can't read your way through that. You have to experience that firsthand," said Agnoletto. “We want to show staff that they can be successful in this environment and fight through that stress.”

The critical incident training involved the simulation of critical incidents. During the simulation, there was a law enforcement presence, role players, loudspeakers, and other props to simulate a critical incident on a school campus.

Two scenarios were organized. The first staff was trained to go towards the sound of gunfire and handle the shooter immediately. In the second, there were no active gunshots, and staff had to find the shooter, clearing each room in the process.

"If you train static, then when you get into a real-life situation, you haven't conditioned your mind to sift through all of the things that it has to to get to the end to the solution of what we're there for," said sheriff Chad Bianco. “It's important that we train and we train often. We also involve other agencies, and we train with them. So we're all on the same page.”

Bianco said all deputies carrying weapons must do yearly active shooter training. If there ever was an active shooter, up to 400 sheriff deputies can respond immediately.

“​​We certainly don't want it here, but I want everyone to know that we are we are very, very prepared for it, and we are up for the task," said Bianco.

If you have any questions about this critical incident training or the ongoing training, please contact Sergeant Jared Howe or Corporal Steven Rivera at the Palm Desert Sheriff's Station (760) 836-1600.