Following the mass taking pictures in Uvalde, Texas, final month, native regulation enforcement and hearth officers informed the Saratoga Metropolis Council Wednesday that their departments are ready to answer related incidents in Santa Clara County.
The sheriff’s workplace has been working with county hearth officers for years to ascertain protocol within the occasion of a tragedy, in keeping with Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith and Deputy Fireplace Chief Jason Falarski.
“We prepare in our county that the primary deputies which might be there go in instantly,” Smith mentioned at a June 1 assembly with the council.. “I actually don’t know what’s occurred in Texas, however we all know that that’s how we prepare our folks, our first responders, to deal with the menace instantly.”
Nineteen college students and two lecturers have been killed by an 18-year-old shooter on Could 24 at Rob Elementary Faculty in Uvalde, Texas within the deadliest US faculty taking pictures in additional than a decade.
Within the days that adopted the tragedy, the delayed response from regulation enforcement on the scene sparked nationwide outrage. Eighty minutes handed between the time officers responded to the scene and the time the gunman was shot.
The incident practically coincided with the one-year anniversary of the VTA mass taking pictures in San Jose, the place a upkeep employee took the lives of 9 staff final Could.
“All of Saratoga can be mourning what has occurred in Uvalde, in Texas,” Saratoga Mayor Tina Walia mentioned. “I've been working very intently with Captain Urena by way of how we reply to our group or their considerations.”
Capt. Wealthy Urena, who oversees the sheriff’s West Valley Patrol Division, mentioned he despatched a memo to officers to extend their presence at faculties to assist the group and be there to reply questions.
“Actually, the important thing to attempting to forestall tragedies, I consider, is communication,” Urena mentioned. “We have to speak with the colleges; we have to speak with the mother and father. We want to verify the colleges and the mother and father really feel comfy with our group, with the police division, so you possibly can interact in that dialog to mitigate future incidents like this.”
The Sheriff’s Workplace additionally affords Run, Conceal, Defend security shows and drills for all college students within the district.
Falarski mentioned the fireplace division has labored with regulation enforcement officers on learn how to take away injured people from high-risk conditions.
“I’m proud to say we're not reactionary to this,” Falarski mentioned. “Ought to an occasion occur on this county, because it already has within the metropolis of San Jose, we're effectively ready to answer that, and tragically, how we come ready is coping with giant occasions all through the state.”
Urena mentioned 234 firearms have been relinquished to the Sheriff’s Workplace within the final 3.5 years, roughly 40 of which got here from Saratoga residents.
“We need to remind people there's a method you could eliminate these firearms and produce them right here to our substation,” Urena mentioned.
Residents can deliver unloaded firearms to the station for regulation enforcement to confiscate and destroy by first calling 408-299-2311.
Weapons may also be turned in anonymously. For extra data, go to https://countysheriff.sccgov.org/providers/how-voluntarily-relinquish-firearms-sheriffs-office.