FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – On Feb. 18, the Freehold Township Police Department hosted the inaugural training session for the new Western Monmouth County Active Shooter/Active Threat Training Group.
The training session took place at Freehold Raceway Mall in the township.
Freehold Township Police Lt. Daniel Pasquinucci said the training group is comprised of police departments from the western part of Monmouth County: Allentown, Colts Neck, Englishtown, Freehold Borough, Freehold Township, Howell, Manalapan and Marlboro.
Assisting and participating in the training exercise were police officers from the Southern Monmouth County Active Shooter/Active Threat Training Partnership.
The southern group consists of the Asbury Park, Avon by the Sea, Belmar, Bradley Beach, Brielle, Manasquan, Neptune City, Neptune Township, Sea Girt, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights and Wall Township police departments; the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office; and the Neptune Township Emergency Medical Services Rescue Task Force, a tactical emergency medical response team.
Pasquinucci said more than 100 officers participated in the drill at the mall as participants or as trainers, including members of the FBI Crisis Management Team, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Department Mobile Command/Communications Unit and the Freehold Raceway Mall Security Department.
Officers were initially trained on police tactical maneuvers and then participated in scenarios in which they put to use the tactics they had learned, according to the lieutenant.
Pasquinucci said the police departments that comprise the active threat training groups are committed to planning, practicing and preparing for any threats their communities may face. He said the training session at the mall was successful and added that future training exercises with the multi-jurisdictional training groups are being planned.