K-State Police hosting active shooter training this week

Moeller said the agencies are using Edwards Hall, which is now an empty building, after KSU Police moved to the Stone House on campus for more space.

“The building is scheduled to be town down,” Moeller said, “so that gave us free rein to come in and not worry about doing any accidental damage.”

Moeller said this is the first multi-agency active violence training session the university has had in three years because of COVID-19. He told The Mercury that the particular method of training officers are receiving this week is referred to as “force on force” or “Simunitions” training.

Simunition is a Connecticut-based company that makes simulated ammunition for law enforcement and military training purposes. The projectiles look like conventional bullets, but instead feature a non-lethal tip that breaks apart and leaves a colored mark on impact. The company also provides kits for law enforcement agencies to convert their firearms to reliably feed Simunitions projectiles.

The simulated ammunition is fired from officers’ guns like regular bullets but is quieter than traditional ammo. Even though it’s non-lethal, Simunition ammo can still hurt, so officers are wearing protective gear while training.

“One officer wore short sleeves (Tuesday) and took a round to the arm,” Moeller said. “It broke the skin. It’s not as loud as regular ammunition. We don’t need hearing protection, but it has that ‘pop pop’ sound that certainly gets your attention.”

Moeller said the idea behind this type of training scenario is to be as “life-like” as possible, which includes people role-playing as the suspect as well as injured victims.

“When the bad guy shoots back at officers, it certainly gives them an adrenaline pump,” Moeller said. “We want our officers to know how that feels, so they can rely on their training to still react properly to that type of stress.”

Moeller said sometimes KSU Police work with the university’s theater department to create accurate-looking gunshot wounds, but this time officials are just simulating injuries without using fake blood. Moeller said officers also shoot live ammunition on the firing range, so they can practice their marksmanship and target acquisition.

“We want to make sure they’re firing on a bad guy and not an innocent bystander,” Moeller said, “and we want to make sure they follow through (with firing) until the threat is neutralized.”

The campus police department has provided active shooter training for the past decade. Moeller said ideally he would like to conduct active violence trainings up to three times a year, to help officers build on their skills and “stay fresh.”

“We do a lot of training on this in hopes that it’ll never have to be used,” Moeller said.

Moeller said people who are interested in learning what they can do to protect themselves in an active shooter situation can go to k-state.edu/police/alice. He said more safety information for students, faculty and campus visitors will be available through that link as the police department overhauls its website in the coming weeks.