Burlington police mock shooting drill shakes high school students

Students at Burlington High School were shaken Wednesday after local police detectives staged a student protest during which an alleged shooter pretended to open fire.

The incident happened Wednesday at the Burlington Police Department headquarters, located on One North Avenue. About 20 students from the senior forensics class had gone to the police station for a field trip, Russ Elek, a spokesperson for the Burlington school district, told VTDigger in a written statement.

During the presentation, police reenacted a crime and students unexpectedly heard screams and fake gunshots behind where they were sitting, according to an email school officials sent to parents and to the students' families Wednesday afternoon. The aim “was to highlight how unreliable witness statements can be, and the detectives wanted the event to be as realistic as possible,” wrote acting director Sabrina Westdijk and two teachers present in the e- email.

But the incident “was surprising to many students and may have left some feeling confused and frightened,” school officials wrote.

The detectives apologized “after realizing the reenactment did not translate well to high school students,” school officials wrote. Teachers also expressed remorse and the school offered mental health counseling and support to those present.

In a statement Wednesday afternoon, the Burlington Police Department apologized to those “who were upset by the specific scenario and crime scene in the presentation” but said the department had “strivered to have joint coordination and clear communication before this classroom experience. »

Police said the school district contacted the department about the protest in April — and a similar presentation took place last fall with the school's science in society program.

According to Elek, school officials knew a shooting crime re-enactment would take place, but they “did not realize the presentation would take place without warning.”

Police disputed that claim, however, writing in a statement released Wednesday that school and police personnel had communicated details of the scenario and confirmed the incident would involve the use of imitation firearms during 'a simulated shootout.

Police released portions of emails exchanged between department and school officials, making clear that the protest would include “fake firearms in a simulated shooting.”

“Do you think this kind of incident would be acceptable for your group of students?” This is as real life as possible, and it is certainly exactly the kind of thing we face most frequently,” police officials wrote, according to their account.

School staff responded by saying they thought students “would feel good about this simulation” and that they would alert students and parents in advance, according to police.

The incident was first revealed in a social media post on Wednesday evening. Burlington police said in a statement that the post was posted by someone “who was not present” at the protest but “who may have known someone who was present and may have been upset.”

The Burlington Police Department said it will meet with students and staff Friday “to discuss the presentation and its impact.” We hope this can be a thoughtful growth opportunity for all parties.

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