SWAT team drills law officers

Thursday, February 3rd 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) -- School shootings across the country are changing the rules for law enforcement officers. Officers from area law enforcement agencies were drilled Wednesday night on the finer points of being a hall boss, the person who directs armed officers moving through the hallways to clear classrooms.

Stillwater police SWAT team sharpshooter and hall boss trainer Shannon Jordan told the officers that the shooters don't want anything. "They don't want a million dollars and a getaway car. They don't want hostages or a witness to a suicide. They want to kill people, and the longer we wait, the more people will die," he said.

In the past, the first officer on the scene might have been concerned with containing the scene or waiting for support. The Stillwater team drilled in the point that there was no time to hesitate. The mission of the hall boss is to find the shooter or shooters and shoot to kill. "We want these kids to know that the way things are being done will not be tolerated," Jordan said. "We will hunt them down and take them out. We aren't negotiators at this point. We're exterminators."

Jordan and two other members of the Stillwater Police Department, attended a hall boss training session in Tulsa several weeks ago. They trained other members of the SWAT team and the training is being passed on. The same training is being taught across the country. Until a commanding officer arrives, whoever is first on the scene of a shooting at a school, office or grocery store is in charge.

Officers from the Stillwater Police Department, Payne County Sheriff's Office, Oklahoma State University Police Department and the Perkins Police Department participated in the training. Jordan described scenarios and told the officers to prepare themselves mentally for chaos. He said the hall boss technique wasn't perfect but is the best defense available