Two emergency telecommunicators who survived mass shootings will lead CAPCOG’s Active Threat Course for emergency telecommunicators set for March 24 at the CAPCOG offices, 6800 Burleson Road, Building 310, in Austin.
“Learning from survivors who work in emergency communications lets trainees understand the victim’s perspective, enabling them to better assist what could be a frantic caller and allowing them obtain valuable information faster,” said Veronica Neal, CAPCOG Emergency Communications senior 9-1-1 training specialist. “It better prepares them to calm the caller and ask the appropriate questions that can save lives.”
The course brings students face-to-face with several active threat scenarios where trainees learn how to prioritize incoming information. They also explore past and recent events to learn call-taking best practices. Featured will be Cedar Park Emergency Telecommunicator and 2017 Las Vegas Shooting survivor, Bryce Wellman; and Wisconsin’s Brown County Public Safety Communications Supervisor and Omaha’s Westroads Mall shooting survivor, Tracy Ertl. The course will also discuss preemptive resilience training to aid in team survival from an Austin-based trauma therapist & specialist.
A human trafficking survivor from the San Francisco area, Jabali Smith, will help instruct CAPCOG’s March 25 Human Trafficking for emergency telecommunicators course alongside Ertl, who has helped save lives in human trafficking cases as an emergency telecommunicator. During the course, public safety personnel will learn the causes of human trafficking and what it looks like in their communities. Trainees will be taught what questions to ask, how to process calls, and what information to look for.
Register for these courses or other emergency telecommunicator training opportunities.
Learn more about the Emergency Communications Division.
