Atlanta employees and elected officials are now required to undergo active shooter training on an annual basis.
The Atlanta City Council recently passed an ordinance requiring such training. The vote comes less than a month after a shooting that injured two Spelman College students and two Clark Atlanta University students.
“People are afraid, and in that moment, people don’t know exactly what to do,” Councilwoman Marci Collier Overstreet said of recent high-profile shootings. “Sometimes it’s a better practice if you’re given the chance to go through training at least once a year.”
The training will be required for all part-time, full-time and contract employees of the city, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The city’s human resources department will maintain and enforce the training. Atlanta police will be involved in the training, Overstreet said. The city has not set a budget for the cost of the training or set an agenda for the classes.
In recent years, active shooter training courses have become more common, especially in workplaces and schools, the newspaper reported. Police departments have offered drills to residents in metro Atlanta and elsewhere, including recent training in Dunwoody.
