The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is on track to meet the mandate in Governor Kevin Stitt's Executive Order, "Mission: Secure Oklahoma Schools," requiring every trooper in Oklahoma be trained in the LASER (Law Enforcement Active Shooter Emergency Response) program by the end of the year.
As of today, OHP has completed 24 LASER classes and 6 LASER instructor classes resulting in 708 troopers being trained and 90 being certified as instructors. OHP has trained 179 officers from 26 different law enforcement agencies.
Louisiana State University's NCBRT/ Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education has partnered with the state and generously provided equipment and instructors.
In October, OHP held two Train the Trainer classes to certify troopers as instructors in the Run Hide Fight system. RHF is a program designed to give school and business employees the strategies and tools to handle an active shooter incident. Eighty troopers have graduated as instructors in this program. So far, OHP has trained 250 teachers and capitol employees in RHF.
Also, OHP has developed a pilot program to train troopers in conducting school threat assessments in conjunction with the Oklahoma School Security Institute. In October, Homeland Security held an 8-hour training session and 12 troopers attended the training and have submitted resumes to be involved in future training. OHP plans to train additional troopers to independently complete threat assessments and then build the program from there.
OHP has also partnered with the RAVE App organization to create a notification system designed to alert OHP to any school using the app. OHP will then notify every trooper by radio, text and e-mail of an active shooter event.
“I am so proud of our Department of Public Safety, Oklahoma School Security Institute, CLEET Academy, Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and everyone who has been working to implement Mission S.O.S. to keep our children safe at school," said Governor Kevin Stitt. "In just six months, we have worked together to provide hundreds of law enforcement officers across Oklahoma with the most updated training, including sheriff’s offices in Wagoner and Canadian counties as well as police departments in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Norman, Weatherford, Woodward, Mustang, Langston, Yukon, Muskogee, and more. We have successfully seen 93% of schools implement the RAVE App and are working with school districts and teachers to give them the tools and strategies to handle an active shooter incident. In Oklahoma, we are taking every precaution to ensure we are ready not just to respond, but to also prevent mass violence from happening in our schools.”
"The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is committed to safety not just on Oklahoma roads but in our schools and places of business as well," said Department of Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton. "We are working tirelessly with our partners around the state to ensure everyone is trained and ready to respond in the most efficient way possible to save lives."
"We are proud of the work our troopers have put in to completing the Governor's Executive Order," said OHP Chief Pat Mays. "They are dedicated to the mission not just because of their jobs, but because they live, work, and send their children to the schools in these communities. While we hope to never be confronted with an active shooter situation, we are ready and equipped to do so."
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