PUTNAM COUNTY, TN (July 19, 2019): the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, at the request of surrounding agencies, has opened up their tactical active shooter response training school for school resource officers (SROs) to surrounding Upper Cumberland agencies and organizations. SROs from Overton County Sheriff’s Office, Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and Volunteer State Community College have completed a five-day intense training course. The course is specifically designed to equip SROs physically and mentally in the event of an active shooter incident as well as other emergencies.
Sheriff Eddie Farris emphasizes the importance of these relationships and partnerships within the education and law enforcement communities.
“It is always a compliment for other agencies to recognize the great work we are doing by choosing to partner or train with our sheriff’s office, but what is most important is working together to keep the children and staff of Tennessee’s schools safe,” said Sheriff Farris.
“Tennesseans are recognizing the effectiveness of qualified SROs in the school system. SROs are capable of making a significant positive difference in the lives of children, school staff and their families. Just like other divisions of law enforcement the level of training provided to SROs will determine their level of effectiveness when they are called upon to act. While I cannot stress enough the importance of relationships in preventing an occurrence, there is a time in which law enforcement must act. We want to ensure that SROs are as mentally prepared and physicallytrained for these situations as they are in the proactive responses.”
The training course is the creation of Deputy David Harding a PCSO Deputy and leader of PCSO’s SWAT Team. Harding has spent 15 years in the military and was deployed on over 300 combat missions in Iraq. Deputy Harding ran the exercises and was assisted by PCSO SRO Supervisor Lieutenant Steve Elrod and PCSO Trainers Lieutenants Rick Baker, Fred Parker and David Dillon.
