On Thursday, October 12, 2023, the Brownfield Police, Brownfield ISD Police, Brownfield Fire & Rescue, BRMC EMS, and BRMC participated in a multiagency disaster drill. During the 86th Texas Legislature (2019) the lawmakers and Governor Greg Abbott placed Senate Bill 11 (SB11) into law. SB11 stems from the devastating school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe Texas that killed eight students and two teachers. SB11 required Texas public school districts to adopt rules to ensure that building standards for school district facilities are safe and secure. However, on May 24, 2022, a man named Salvador Ramos went into Robb Elementry School of Uvalde ISD in Uvalde Texas, and killed 19 students (ages 9-10) and two teachers. This tragedy then forced the State of Texas to do more for school safety.
Texas District 83 House member Dustin Burrows, who is Terry County’s state representative, filed and authored House Bill 3 in the 88th (2023) Texas Legislature. The bill was passed by both chambers and signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Like SB11 which was passed in 2019, this new law gives more support and power from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to force and crack down on Texas public schools when it comes to school safety. Of course one of those requirements from SB 11 and HB 3 in each school district is to hold an active shooter drill.
The active shooter drill on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, did just that for BISD. This drill was to simulate an active shooter event in the community and had been carefully planned and coordinated over the last two months. The goal of the drill was to establish a baseline understanding of the capabilities of all the agencies and facilities so that areas that need training and improvement could be identified and to help the agencies practice coordination of resources during large-scale events. BISD Superintendent Chris Smith allowed the utilization of the high school for the event and provided volunteers for the mock casualties, and South Plains EMS provided the moulage.
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