MASON, Mich — As summer comes to a close and students prepare to return to school, local law enforcement agencies are working to ensure student safety through active violence training sessions at Mason High School.
- Law enforcement from Eaton, Ingham, and Clinton counties participated in the active violence training.
- The mock scenario allowed officers to practice their response while students and teachers learned safety protocols.
- School officials expressed gratitude for the partnership with local law enforcement to maintain a safe environment.
On Tuesday afternoon, I was at Mason High School, where law enforcement from three counties conducted a mock active violence scenario.
WATCH: Tri-county law enforcement prepares for school emergencies with active training
Law enforcement officers from Eaton, Ingham, and Clinton counties joined forces to train for an active violence scenario at Mason High School. The collaborative exercise brought together first responders who might need to work together in a real emergency.
Chief Deputy Darin Southworth with the Ingham County Sheriff's Office explained the importance of this training.
"All in an effort to make us better at what we do, should that awful call come in of active violence," Southworth said.
The training was particularly valuable because many of the participating officers had never worked together before.
"Many of these faces have never worked together before, there's hundreds of first responders in our Tri County area, that may all come here and put their lives on the line, so we got better today," Southworth said.
The mock scenario not only provided practice for officers but also gave students and teachers insight into how to respond during a potentially violent situation.
Hannah Duran, the school social worker who participated as an actor in the exercise, shared her experience.
"When I first started working here, I thought everyone knew this was a potential possibility," Duran said.
During the simulation, participants were able to interact directly with law enforcement.
"We asked police questions; they gave us instructions. Even though we complied because this was practice, I was thinking about what I would do if this were real life," Duran said.
Mason Superintendent Gary Kinzer expressed appreciation for the partnership with local law enforcement.
"For us to learn, to test our protocols, and to be sure that we're doing the best we can to make sure we have a safe environment for our students and staff," Kinzer said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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