Monday, February 24, 2025

San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Bets on Shooting Preparedness

San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Bets on Shooting Preparedness
Photo: Gerardo Ortiz P360P

By Pamela Cruz with information and images from Gerardo Ortiz. P360P.

The phone rings, a 9-1-1 emergency service operator receives a call. They are informed that there is an active shooting in a public space and that the suspect is at the scene. The authorities must mobilize and act with caution, since it is not yet known how many people could be in danger, the heart is racing and it is time to keep a cool head, another day of work.

This is a situation that thousands of operators and police officers face almost every day in the US, and because of it, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office has undergone special training, which will be annual starting this year, to prepare for active shootings and risky situations where lives are at stake.

Thus, on March 28 and 29, Sheriff's Office agents met at the Half Moon Bay IDES Society facilities, located at 735 Main St., in Half Moon Bay, a small coastal town that just last January 23 suffered a strong blow to its community, when a man shot at a couple of agricultural farms, leaving 7 dead, to prepare themselves more and better for acts like that.

San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Bets on Shooting Preparedness
Photo: Gerardo Ortiz P360P

Stories like that, and those that happen constantly around the country, led San Mateo County to better prepare.

“The training, which will now be an annual one for us, is due to the events that have occurred across the country and in our county. This is our new normal, unfortunately. And in order for us to protect our communities, we know that this training is paramount,” said San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus.

In an interview with Peninsula 360 Press, the sheriff explained that her team has often worked with the standards of what others do and that, due to a changing and complex world, they need to respond in the best ways to save lives.

San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Bets on Shooting Preparedness
Photo: Gerardo Ortiz P360P

“For me, as a sheriff, I understand that our world is changing. It’s becoming more complex. The types of crimes that are occurring are more complex and in order for us to truly respond in a way where we’re saving lives or protecting our community, we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard and so we’re evaluating all of our training at this point,” he stressed.

In this regard, the leader of this authority stated that they have made an evaluation of what is known, what has been learned and areas in which improvement can be achieved.

San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Bets on Shooting Preparedness
Photo: Gerardo Ortiz P360P

"This is really an opportunity for us to see where we can improve and then provide that training to them. That way we're not waiting until something happens."

Corpus acknowledged that the failure to respond adequately to the recent shooting in Half Moon Bay was “a big shock to everyone, I’m sure. The sheriff’s office may have learned something from that experience that they’re bringing to this new training.”

“We see it every day on the news, all these shootings that are happening and the innocent lives that are being lost, it doesn’t make sense. So, we need to have more complexity in our training so that we can respond better.”

But this type of training was not only useful for the Sheriff's Office, as other authorities that should be involved were invited to participate, such as the Calfire CZU Fire Department, which serves the area; and school personnel belonging to the school districts of San Mateo County.

San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Bets on Shooting Preparedness
Photo: Gerardo Ortiz P360P

“…we have Calfire involved, we have school administrators involved because they are our partners and together we can respond better. We know what each of us has been trained to do, we have the same training, so it was really important for me to invite and include our stakeholders and really be able to get the word out,” Christina Corpus explained.

“…schools are part of our community and we want our school officials to be aware of the training that we’re providing, and also to be able to learn from it. There are certain aspects of the training that is one way that our police will respond. But if it were to happen outside of school, then our school officials will know what to expect from us and really understand the importance of collaborating, but also keeping those lines of communication open.”

unite to win

San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Bets on Shooting Preparedness
Photo: Gerardo Ortiz P360P

The recent incident at a private school in Nashville, Tennessee, where 6 people were killed in a shooting, three of them just 9 years old, shook the country again, especially the residents of San Mateo County, because with what happened in Half Moon Bay, the alarms went off again.

That is why the Sheriff has sought to have her entire team join the community, especially with students and teachers, providing them with tools and programs that help them not feel alone and that they can count on these authorities to solve certain problems.

"We have officers who work inside the schools. But we are working to have a stronger relationship with the students and with the teachers, because it is important that if we can help a young person or give them resources and programs, that is how we have a stronger relationship with them," Corpus said.

San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Bets on Shooting Preparedness
Photo: Gerardo Ortiz P360P

Although California has one of the toughest laws in the country regarding the use and possession of firearms, the county has focused on controlling the trafficking of weapons from other states, which is why it has teams that are on the lookout for unregistered weapons.

However, Corpus has stressed that the problem goes further. "We need to look at the country level, because one of the main causes of death of children and young people is due to a firearm." 

In addition to this, they have provided mental and psychological support by working with other agencies to deal with cases where someone is in crisis. 

To this end, Corpus said, work is already underway to create teams of clinical professionals who can help assess people who are in crisis, but with a view to having them work hand in hand with officers in a co-response model, and not always responding in a lethal manner, where it is not required, "so that it does not escalate further and talking to people, but not just grabbing the firearm."

San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Bets on Shooting Preparedness
Photo: Gerardo Ortiz P360P

It should be noted that the scenarios are always different, so the officers have prepared themselves with programs based on cases that have occurred in the country, since not all attackers use firearms, some have knives, razors, machetes, and the fact is that, "when you go to a place, you don't know what weapon the person is going to have."

For Orlando Baltazar Gutierrez, an officer with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, these training sessions are important for schools, as they open channels of communication to know what to do if they have to deal with shootings at these schools.

By speaking Spanish, the officer has been able to reach out to Latino residents in the area, who have expressed their concerns, but are aware that working as a team is the best resource.

You may be interested in: Redwood City seeks tighter control of retail gun and ammunition sales

Pamela Cruz
Pamela Cruz
Editor-in-Chief of Peninsula 360 Press. A communications expert by profession, but a journalist and writer by conviction, with more than 10 years of experience in the media. Specialized in medical and scientific journalism by Harvard and winner of the International Visitors Leadership Program scholarship from the U.S. government.

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