Reprinted with permission from the Houghton Lake Resorter
The stage had been set when a call was received by Roscommon County Central Dispatch indicating that a vehicle had crashed near the Roscommon County Courthouse entrance. The scenario became more complicated two minutes later when another call informed Central Dispatch that armed gunmen were roaming the halls of the County Building and Courthouse.
Those calls prompted a mass response of eight ambulances, five fire trucks and 11 officers from the Roscommon County Sheriff’s Office, Michigan State Police and Gerrish Township Police Department and Roscommon County HazMat to a planned active violence incident (AVI) training which took place Sept. 22 at the Roscommon County Courthouse and County Building.
Sheriff Ed Stern said the scenario began with the accident, which served as a diversion to allow three gunmen to enter the buildings. Those gunmen were in search of a federal inmate who had ties to an organization to which the gunmen belonged. As part of the scenario, the federal inmate was to appear in court that day to testify against the organization and the gunmen were on a mission to stop him from testifying. One of the gunmen took a hostage, while the other two gunmen searched for the federal inCounty mate.
Stern said that officers from the RCSO had been evaluating the county complex for a week in
preparation for the AVI to create a course of action to handle the scenario. He added the officers on duty that morning had no idea the accident was part of the scenario, which was done to “completely change their mindset.”
“The goal was to make them think on their feet,” Stern said.
Once Sgt. Dean Maeder and Jail Administrator Lt. Laurie Beck, who responded to the accident, realized it was part of the AVI, Stern said they responded to the information that gunmen had entered the buildings. He said that Maeder and Beck took out two of the gunmen in the courthouse, while the third, who was part of the hostage portion of the scenario, was being talked down by Undersheriff Ben Lowe, Det. Lt. John Wybraniec and Det. Sgt. Angie Ackley in the County Building. The hostage scenario gunman took his own life by a self-inflicted gunshot, which allowed the hostage to be released to the care of the responding officers.
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STAGED HOSTAGE SITUATION RESOLVED.
With her hands up signifying that she was unarmed,
Noelle Martin walks away from one of the shooters who held her hostage during the Roscommon County active violence training scenario, which took place Sept. 22 at the Roscommon County Building and Courthouse. Martin's captor had taken his own life in the scenario, which allowed her to be taken into the care of Roscommon County Sheriff's Office personnel, including (from left) Det. Lt. John Wybraniec, Undersheriff Ben Lowe, and Det. Sgt. Angie Ackley. (Photo by Krista Tacey-Cater) |
The hostage had been played by Human Resource Specialist/Payroll Clerk Noelle Martin, who knew prior to the scenario that she would be playing the hostage role. Although she had been mentally preparing for the AVI, she said once it began it became more real when she saw IT Director Phil Bendily playing the role of a wounded person before being taken by the gunman.
She said the gunman took her to the landing before the basement entry and made the scenario seem “very real.” She said she felt nervous and had some apprehension as the scenario played out. Although she had been preparing for the scenario, she did not know how she would react until it began. She wasn’t afraid because she knew it was not real, however, it gave her a “very weird feeling.”
Martin said that she knows such a scenario could take place at the County Building, however, she did not think about it too much. After the training she said she feels more prepared to react in the event a similar situation were to take place. She added that it is reassuring to know that law enforcement has the training and the capability to respond to incidences quickly and with the knowledge to handle the situation.
As the scenario played out, Stern, Deputy Joe Quintana and Deputy Nick Walters, who are part of the Emergency Response Team (ERT), followed the responding officers while they searched for the gunmen. Quintana said that the goal was to allow the responding officers to make decisions on their own, but ask them to step back at times to evaluate the situation and receive pointers along the way.
Quintana, a 13-year ERT member, said that while giving pointers to the officers he recalled skills and tactics he learned through Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) Training, which he is certified in. Overall Quintana said he was pleased with the way the responding officers used their past training to respond to the event.
Emergency Manager Mike Beaty said he was pleased with how quickly the officers responded and added that overall, the entire scenario, which was attended by 150 people, went smoothly. He said that EMS was ready to respond when they got the call, but because of protocol they could not enter the building until it had been secured. He said the policy is that EMS does not enter a building that has not been fully secured so they do not become victims as well. He said EMS waited on standby until they were able to enter the buildings.
Beaty added that the public announcement systems in the buildings worked as they were supposed to and he was pleased with the response of everyone involved, including the county employees.
“It got everyone thinking,” Beaty said, as an AVI was “brought right to them.” He said having a training scenario makes the county employees more prepared and ready to act in the event of a real situation.
Stern said he was pleased with how seriously the employees took the training. He added that some employees were hidden so well they could not be found when the final sweep of the buildings took place.
“I was actually really, really impressed with the employees and how they handled the situation,” Controller Jodi Valentino said. She added that every department had a plan for how to respond to the situation and that it was nice to see the employees put their past training into use. She called the AVI training a “great opportunity” and said she was glad the county employees were able to take part in it.
Stern added that he hopes the training gives the county employees “a sense of security” knowing that they have trained law enforcement and emergency responders ready to react in the event of a real situation.
Overall, Stern said he is pleased with the cooperative effort of all the emergency personnel who responded to the scenario.