BOISE — Kari Fratusco has been a school resource officer for 17 years, the last 10 of which have come at Lowell Scott Middle School in Boise.
The majority of her time, she said, is spent reaching out to all the kids and building relationships with them. She was inspired to be a police officer because of her school resource officer in junior high.
“He just was awesome. Always out, engaging with the students. Awesome personality,” she said. “Just a great guy.”
Preparing for an active shooter on school grounds was not something she would have imagined when she started the job, she said. Now, it’s part and parcel with what she does.
“Honestly, no. Not really. It’s sad that this is something that we’re having to prepare for. But, it’s unfortunately a reality,” she said. “We have to make sure that we as officers are prepared and we have to make sure that the staff in the schools and the students are also prepared.”
Fratusco was one of about 20 Boise school resource officers who were at the Boise Police Department's Training Facility on Wednesday with the 2022-23 school year on the horizon.
Training activities included breaching locked and barricaded doors, and running through a simulated active shooting episode in a replica hallway with side rooms attached.
Capt. Spencer Fomby, who oversees BPD’s training, education and development division, said that other physical skills the department was trying to hone include identifying which subjects are in fact active threats, making sure law enforcement personnel has access to the right equipment and medical kits, and ensuring officers in those situations can process information quickly.
“The officers have to understand the principles of active shooter response. Some of that requires classroom training. But the real nuts and bolts are that they have to get out and understand the physical skills,” Fomby said. “The only way to really perfect that is to get out and physically do all the tasks we expect them to do.”
Fomby said there has been an emphasis on active shooter response in schools since 1999, following the tragic shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado that left 15 dead and 24 wounded.
Such instances have increased over the years. The most recent high-profile one took place in Uvalde, Texas, in late May, when a gunman fatally shot 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School. Seventeen others were wounded.
Fomby said that points of emphasis on school shooter response have shifted over the years and now there is additional focus on school resource officers who are typically first on scene.
“We recognize that that’s a really daunting situation where they may have to make decisions and go and try to engage that shooter by themselves,” Fomby said. “So we’re really focused on making sure that they have an understanding of the skills they need and they can perform those skills under stress. To go in, identify the potential threat and then mitigate it.”
All Boise police officers have annual active shooter training, Fomby said. He added that FEMA sent an active shooter management course to the department this year and law enforcement from throughout the region attended. Over a three-day period the group ran through scenarios to try and perfect the management of an active shooter event, Fomby said.
“What this does is try to prepare us for the worst situation possible,” Tyjuan Lynn, an SRO at Timberline High School, said following Wednesday’s training. “I don’t think there’s a right answer for how we can be prepared for everything. But as long as we train and we do it regularly, I think that it will give us the best chance to handle any situation that is thrown at us.”
Lynn concurred with Fratusco – job duties can vary day-to-day, but often he is building relationships with students by interacting with them, helping them in sports, or assisting with classroom work.
“I try my best to not necessarily present myself as a police officer all the time,” he said. “Just to interact as a person.”
Both Fratusco and Lynn said they feel prepared if an active shooter situation arose at their particular schools.
At the tail end of his interview, Lynn said issues have changed since he was a student.
“Back when I went to high school, I think the hardest thing we did was fire drills. Getting people lined up, try to get outside to a patch of grass,” he said. “Now today, it’s an unfortunate thought that you have to go to school to prepare for active shooters.”
Fratusco pointed out that all police officers face this reality. She said it’s something they all think about in every situation, whether they’re on the clock or not.
“You hope that day never comes," she said. "But you gotta be prepared if it does.”