The Bowling Green Police chief says his department has been training for a mass shooting situation since the 1999 Columbine High School attacks.
Police preparation for mass casualty events has once again come into focus following the Orlando nightclub shootings.
Chief Doug Hawkins spoke to WKU Public Radio about the BGPD’s ability to handle catastrophic incident like the one scene at the Pulse nightclub. Hawkins says Bowling Green police have access to high-powered rifles that can penetrate body armor worn by attackers.
“One of the added pieces of equipment that we’ve added over the last few years is a patrol rifle. The Bowling Green Police Department, like a lot of other police agencies, used to utilize shotguns. But shotguns do not defeat body armor.”
Hawkins says his department is putting a lot of effort into building relationships with community members, especially Bowling Green’s immigrant and refugee populations.
He says those relationships increase the chances that someone who knows about a planned attack will alert police.
You can hear WKU Public Radio’s interview with Doug Hawkins by clicking on the “Listen” button above.
