Washington County Sheriff’s Office receives state-of-the-art active shooter simulator

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – No one ever thinks they will be a victim in an active shooter situation.

Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputies are making sure they stay proactive with their newly acquired state-of-the-art simulator.

Every active shooter situation is different.

That’s where M.I.L.O. comes in.

M.I.L.O. stands for multiple interactive learning objectives.

“It’s a training simulator that allows a student to experience multiple scenarios in an active shooter situation under a very controlled environment,” said Washington County Sheriff’s Office Special Operations Commander Lieutenant Joseph Green.

Deputies use a Glock or rifle that’s modified with infrared lasers that you can fire at virtual adversaries.

There are over 200 different scenarios with multiple outcomes that can be manipulated and altered by the trainer from a computer.

Each time a simulation ends, there’s a debriefing segment that shows how many shots were fired and reaction time.

“I’ve been in law enforcement for quite a while since 1994 and getting behind even the infrared guns and running through a scenario, your adrenaline still goes up,” Green said.

As many as four people can use the simulator at one time.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has been borrowing the technology from the Florida Sheriff’s Association for a couple of years prior.

After receiving a state grant, Washington County Sheriff, Kevin Crews said he had to jump at the opportunity.

“It’s pretty remarkable, the technology that goes in behind this. It shows you just a split second there that a law enforcement officer has to decide what his next move is,” said Washington County Sheriff Kevin Crews.

They were able to purchase the machine for $39,000.

While the simulator can be quite handy for law enforcement, the sheriff’s office also wants to offer this training to local businesses and churches.

“Sheriff Crews wanted to open it for the local community as well. Most churches have some level of internal security that they like to use within their congregation,” Green said.

M.I.L.O. gets quarterly updates.

Those updates will allow the sheriff’s office to gain access to even more simulations.

To learn how you can practice active shooter training in the simulation email Crews at sheriffcrews@wcso.us

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