MPD partners with CUNA Mutual for tactical training

Madison Police Department took their tactical training out into the community on Tuesday. They scaled the CUNA Mutual Group campus as part of their training for active shooter situations.

"We can't do this in a training center. We can't build a campus this big," Captain Jay Lengfeld said.

Lengfeld led the training for more than 50 officers. They focused on reinforce tactical training for frontline officers, practiced incident response coordination with onsite CUNA Mutual Group security team, and worked on getting familiar with the site.

"It can limit logistical issues that come up, and it also can provide faster response time if it was actually an incident that was occurring," CUNA Mutual spokesperson, Phil Tschudy said.

Tschudy says the employees at CUNA Mutual feel great knowing the officers are familiar with their building. This isn't the first training at CUNA Mutual that MPD has done. They were there back in 2011.

"The biggest hurdle we have is being able to clear them [the rooms] at a quick pace," Lengfeld said.

Focusing on communication, speed, and accuracy with safety is the top goals of the training. Officers did a rotation of scenarios where they had to find the shooter in different parts of the building. They were in a group of five and had to communicate with dispatch during the exercise.

Lengfeld said they have done the trainings at West Towne Mall, the Dane County Airport, and American Family Insurance before.

"We need these types of training," Lengfeld said.