PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland police are working to inform the community about how to survive an active shooter situation, and they've created a new podcast that gives tips and speaks about how law enforcement responds to those kinds of tragic events.
Lt. Derrick Foxworth has been through several active shooter situations in his twenty year career as an officer. He created some of the curriculum in the podcast. He said there was a huge demand for training within the community.
"We wanted to have a mechanism where people can still get the information for their individual organization, whether it's a house or a place of worship, school, it just gives another way to do that," he said.
The podcast can be found on YouTube or the Portland Police Bureau's website. It's audio-only and taught by police officers with years of experience. It covers how to prepare for an active shooter situation, what to do if it happens and what to expect from law enforcement when they respond.
"When we first get to the scene, we are going to go to the individual that's causing harm," Foxworth said. "That could mean we move past folks that could be injured, which is obviously going to be tough to do, but we have to get to the threat immediately or there will be more victims."
The podcast focuses on three main tips during an active shooter situation. The first is to run away from the threat, the second is to hide and the third is to fight.
"Using improvised weapons, if there's other folks with you having them assist in the counter attack," Foxworth said.