What: The University of Toledo Police Department is hosting active shooter training all week to instruct officers from UTPD and area police departments how to enter a building by themselves when a shooter is inside. The training is known as RAIDER (Rapid Deployment, Awareness, Intervention, Decisiveness, EMS and Recovery).

When/Where: Officers will have their building entry and search training from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 11 in the old Veterans Affairs Building located at 3303 Glendale Ave. At 10 a.m. media are welcome to witness the training and speak with UT Police Chief Jeff Newton. They also will be learning techniques in classrooms at UT and at the Toledo Port Authority from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Why: After the Columbine tragedy, the response of police officers to situations with shooters has evolved. Before, the first officer to arrive on the scene would call for backup and wait for SWAT. They then began using the quad method, where the first four officers on the scene would enter the building. Now, in order to get into a dangerous building faster and potentially save more lives, UTPD and Response Options are taking initiative and training officers how to enter the building alone and neutralize a shooter situation.

Media Coverage
The Blade (April 12, 2013)
FOX Toledo (April 15, 2013)