Indiana teachers injured by Airsoft guns used during an active fire drill say sheriffs have gone too far

March 22, 2019, 13:06 GMT

By Elisha Fieldstadt

An Indiana teachers' union demands changes to exercise protocols for fencers after primary school teachers report being injured by an Airsoft gun in a recent drill.

"During an active fire drill, four teachers at a time were taken into a room, forced to squat and were executed in the manner of a kind of projectile, which resulted in injuries such as bullet marks and blood was taken, "according to a statement. of the Indiana State Teachers Association Wednesday.

Association members said they were injured during the exercise at the Meadowlawn Elementary School in Monticello, the statement said.

The exercise was led by the White County Sheriff's Department, who defended the methods used. White County Sheriff Bill Brooks said the participation was voluntary and that teachers had been informed in advance of what the exercise would involve.

"The training had to be realistic – show what happens if you do not act," he said.

But the Indiana State Teachers Association said that although she supported practices to ensure the safety of teachers and students, she thought the exercise at Meadowlawn had gone too far.

"No one in education takes these exercises lightly.The risk of harming someone far exceeds the realism that we seek to express here," says the statement. Association, calling for an amendment to a safety bill in schools to set more reasonable limits. on these exercises. "

At a hearing on this bill on Wednesday, Indiana House of Representatives representative Wendy McNamara acknowledged that the use of Airsoft guns does not make any difference. was not appropriate during a shooting exercise in a school.

"I do not think something like that should happen in an active shooting exercise," she said. "I think teachers are stressed enough that, if we run an active fire drill, teachers should not become reluctant participants or targets."

Michael Galvin, superintendent of the Twin Lakes School Corporation, to which Meadowlawn belongs, said in a statement that the district had coordinated a meeting between the local teachers' union, the Twin Lakes classroom teacher organization and the Sheriff of White County best way to organize active shooter drills.