Like most, Sedona Police Chief Charles Husted said he was shocked when watching coverage of a combined 32 people being killed by gunmen in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio — less than 13 hours apart. “I was absolutely horrified,” he said. “I’m saddened that that level of violence continues to happen in our country. It’s a very scary time for us.”
As a 30-year veteran of law enforcement and now the police chief of the city, Husted said he looks at incidents like these in a different way than do most.
“Any time something happens, whether it’s an active shooter, mass casualty, critical incident or disaster, myself and other law enforcement professionals look at those and figure out, how does that apply to us?” he asked. “Are we prepared to handle that same thing here? Is our training up to snuff? Is our staff thinking in terms of preparedness? I do look at all of those things.”
As a result of these shootings, Husted said he sent messages internally to city staff to move forward with preparedness on the City Hall campus. They’ve had active-shooter drills on the campus in the past, but his plans call for a more advanced version of that.
“This weekend was a harsh reminder of how critical that type of training can be,” he said.
Husted said he isn’t looking to scare the public when discussing this topic, but the reality is, no community regardless of size is immune to these types of incidents.
“I think it’s important to learn from history and to see the trends that happen and take them as learning points,” he said. “I think it’s clear that horrific, tragic events can happen in any community because all our communities are filled with human beings and human beings are the ones who are perpetrating these horrible acts of violence.
“While we hope and pray that nothing of that nature comes our way, we have to make ourselves aware, prepare and do whatever is necessary to respond and address the incident in the event it does.”
The term “soft targets” is often used when describing venues with a high density of people and little to no security such as schools, churches, stores, festivals and gathering places. Husted said these types of entities don’t necessarily have to hire trained security or install bulletproof glass. But instead, it can be a matter of being more prepared and watchful of others, having an evacuation plan and better exterior lighting to make themselves a harder target. Coming from a police department the size of the one in Sacramento, Calif., to one with just 27 sworn officers hasn’t meant a decrease in readiness.
I’m very impressed with the level of preparedness that’s taken place over the last year or so,” he said. “In public safety you don’t rest on your laurels and think ‘we’re there and this is as good as it gets.’ You’re never to that point. You always have to prepare and get better.”
Because of the department’s relatively small size, Husted said it’s crucial that they train and work with nearby agencies such as the Yavapai and Coconino county sheriff’s offices, Cottonwood Police Department and Arizona Department of Public Safety. Sedona police have teamed with other agencies in recent years on numerous active-shooter drills along with the Sedona Fire District. In addition, there are SPD officers who are members of the Verde Valley regional SWAT team.
“If something were to happen here on the scale we’re talking about, clearly it’s going to tap our resources and we’re going to need support,” he said. “It’s important to know they have the same type of training as we have so that we’re all speaking the same language and responding in the same way. I’ve been so impressed with the amount of collaboration there is between the agencies, which is so important. Everyone, without question, bends over backwards to support one another.”
SFD Acting Chief Jayson Coil said his district has worked on a coordinated response to certain situations that fall outside of conventional EMS response for many years.
“As the frequency and severity of active shooter events have increased, we have increased our preparedness and coordination,” Coil said. “The Sedona Fire District recognizes that in these events we support l aw e n f o r c eme n t , therefore our increased preparedness has focused around increased collaboration and coordination.”
SFD has prepared by issuing ballistic protection, adopting a standardized response model that aligns with national standards and training with law enforcement partners.
“While none of this reduces the significance or lasting impact an event of this kind has on a community, it will help us save lives,” Coil said. “Despite the fact that it presents a greater risk to our firefighters, we believe this approach is vital to reducing the loss of life.”
While law enforcement trains for incidents like the ones at the mass shooting at El Paso, Dayton and the Gilroy Garlic Festival, which left four dead and 13 wounded on July 28, Husted pointed out that no department, regardless of size, can be everywhere all the time. That’s why he stresses the importance of community awareness to be the police department’s additional eyes and ears.
“It’s incumbent upon community members to look into awareness and preparedness,” he said. “I tell people all the time to pay attention to behaviors. Don’t get hung up on race, gender, religion and all these other things that may create biases. “What are the behaviors this particular individual is exhibiting? What is it about this person that causes concern? I call it the ‘Spidey’ senses. Why is the hair on the back of your neck standing up? That’s your intuition telling you something is going on.”
Husted ended by saying that people in Sedona work and live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. So it’s often easy to become complacent within this peaceful community.
“What happens, unfortunately, we as people become somewhat lackadaisical and we don’t think such horrific things could happen in our community,” he said. “But history, especially the last few years, has shown us that these tragedies can erupt in any community. Most communities think the same thing — it can’t happen here. Unfortunately it has. This is certainly not a call to panic or to move away but it’s a level of awareness where we have to take steps to prepare ourselves and become informed. An informed community is a strong community.”
Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com
