SWAT Commander Benefits From Active Threat Conference

The SWAT Commander for the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department says they learned quite a bit during a two-day active threat conference hosted by the Fond du Lac Police Department in late February. Sheriff’s Lieutenant Jim Borgen says their first priority is always to stop the killing, but they also focus on setting up Rescue Task Forces or RTF’s to get in and take care of the wounded in a mass shooting incident. “Depending on what we encounter and the intelligence gained while doing that we may  come across victims on the way that there is no active threat at that point and that’s where we would set up an RTF team and maybe go in to treat those victims now to stop the dying.” Borgen said. He tells us they had some good speakers at the conference including John Michael Keyes who started the “I Love You Guys” Foundation named after his 16-year-old daughter Emily who sent him that text message shortly before a gunman killed her at the Platte Canyon High School shooting in 2006. The foundation distributes material to educate people about active shooter situations. Borgen says in this particular instance they talked about the “Reunification Process.” He says after people hear about a shooting on social media they gather at the site. The process has to do with reunifying families after children are safe. “Parents are going to want to go, and families are going to want to go so you need to have some sort of system in place where you can reunify the children, the faculty with their families somewhere probably off site.” Borgen said.