Active shooter drill turns somber with word of Jacksonville officer death

Moment of silence held at training event for fallen officer killed in crash

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A moment of silence was held at a shooter response summit in Riverside,for the Jacksonville police officer killed in an early morning crash Tuesday

Officers attending the event, designed to train responders to have the highest standard of readiness in safety and security, wore a black and blue stripe across their badges.

Mayor Lenny Curry said he was told of the tragic loss of the officer by Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams in a predawn phone call.

"As details emerge, I’ve let the sheriff know whatever the need is, get in front of me and ask me and I will move mountains to make it happen," Curry said.

JSO Director for Patrol and Enforcement Mike Bruno noted the timing of the loss of his fellow officer.

"We’ve lost others in the line of duty. We recently had our local police memorial ceremony where we honored the 61 fallen officers within this agency, and right now the national police memorial ceremony is occurring in Washington. The timing is just sad, but it takes us back to our base, to our home, to realize how these things can happen. It’s unfortunate," Bruno said.

The goal of the half-day active shooter summit is to practice coordination of forces if such a horrific event should occur here.

"You’ve got to be prepared. That’s why we’re here today. This specific group we convened back in March. That being said, we’ve had other collaborative efforts surrounding this specific issue at least the three-almost years I’ve been in office. Again, these men here, they’re the experts in this. I’m here to facilitate the conversation so they can bring their expertise to the table, and keep doing what they do which is keep us safe no matter what the risks are to them," said Curry.

Curry talked about the specialists who were brought in to conduct the training exercise. 

"One of the messages I got in there which I think was very important was, the goal is very straightforward. Stop the killing, stop the dying and evacuate the building. They’re the experts in that and collaborating in that. I know we’re going to be doing, in the months and weeks ahead, a full simulation training. There’s also going to be training for citizens that we’ll engage, because what these men have shared with me is that citizens in previous events can have a major impact in accomplishing those three goals," Curry said.

The active shooter summit training was held in Black Knight Building at 601 Riverside Avenue on Tuesday.