SOUTHERN COLORADO — First responders have been put to the test in Colorado Springs and Pueblo after two separate crimes happened in very public areas.
Colorado Springs Police responded to a shooting just after 10 a.m. on Thursday in front of the El Paso County Courthouse. Police said they found a person dead with a gunshot wound and arrested a suspect shortly after.
Less than 48 hours earlier, Pueblo Police responded to a call that came in as an active shooter threat at the Pueblo Mall. When officers arrived they said they found the suspect, 29-year-old Mario Arellano, in the parking lot in a car. Police said he began to drive away from officers and crashed through the food court entrance of the mall. Police said Arellano told them he wanted to "kill innocent people." No one was injured.
After the jarring events, both police departments are assuring the community that officers are trained to handle these kinds of threats.
The Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) establishes and maintains standards for peace officer training and certification in the state. POST requires a total of 558 hours of academy training for each officer before they can be certified. Pueblo Police said they provide 1,008 hours of training in their police academy and Colorado Springs Police said they provide 986 hours.
During training in police academies, POST requires 16 hours of rapid emergency deployment training or active shooter training. Both Pueblo Police and Colorado Springs Police said they meet that 16-hour requirement.
Once on the job, POST requires 24 hours of in-service training each year. This includes a minimum of 12 hours for skills like arrest control, driving, and firearms. POST says on its website that the other 12 hours are determined by each agency, meaning rapid emergency deployment is not required in the in-service training. Colorado Springs Police said they require 24 hours of in-service training while Pueblo Police said last year officers clocked 75 hours of in-service.
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