Three years after losing two police officers to an ambush by a deranged and armed resident, Bristol is looking to open a facility in the next two to three years to help police across Connecticut train for various kinds of active shooter situations.
The goal is to construct a two-story facility that would house a state of the art training center where police would practice how to deal with armed attackers in complex buildings where tactics can vary depending on corners, doorways, stairwells and other features.
A new federal grant is providing the $3.1 million foundation for the project, and city leaders now will be looking to the state to pitch in with costs as well. Preliminary estimates suggest the center could cost $5 million to $8 million, with operations beginning as early as 2028-29 if funding, land acquisition and construction go smoothly, according to Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu.
The building will also be available to firefighters for training, and the plan is to make the facility available to police departments from across the state as well as Rhode Island, Massachusetts and eastern New York.
“This is a perfect example of all levels of government coming together for a regional benefit,” she said.
“This is going to make the community safer,” Police Chief Mark Morello said at a ceremony Tuesday to acknowledge the grant. “It’s going to make our firefighters and police officers safer and it’s going to make them better.”
The facility can be arranged with the floorplan of a typical school or office building, and instructors can change the arrangement easily so trainees don’t become accustomed to the same scenario again and again. Typically police will train on how to work their way through a building where a shooter could be hiding behind various doors or in rooms or stairways.
U.S. Rep. John Larson, who delivered the grant, said this will be the first active shooter training center of its kind in New England. He credited the Bristol police and firefighters who have been putting together plans for months.
“We’re here because of the men and women in the room who did the work,” Larson said, gesturing toward two rows of city police and firefighters who stood along the walls of the council chambers at city hall. “This is your idea, your concept.”
Larson noted that 434 other Congressional districts were able to seek the grant, and said it was the work of city police and firefighters that made the difference. They put together a compelling case for building a regional center in the city, he said.
“These are competitive grants,” said Larson, a Democrat. “If you doubt that for a moment, we currently have a Republican president, a Republican-controlled House, a Republican-controlled Senate. But when it comes to public safety, to firefighters and peace officers, bipartisanship transcends.”
“This is the first in New England but it will be a model across the country,” Larson predicted.
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said she and Gov. Ned Lamont know there’s widespread public support for the center.
“This investment is about saving lives and making our communities safer,” she said.
Officer Alec Iurato, who was wounded in the 2022 attack that killed Sgt. Dustin DeMonte and Officer Alex Hamzy, has been working with other police and Fire Chief Richard Hart to develop plans for the training center.
“What we’re trying to do is to provide people with the best training possible with some of the best training instruction staff, I believe, in the entire state,” Iurato said.
He recounted how on Oct. 12, 2022, Bristol police conducted a training session on handling active shooter situations.
“SWAT team members were acting as role players. In one of the scenarios it so happened I had a gunshot wound to my right leg as a role player, and Detective Kevin Monahan was there with me,” Iurato said.
“Not 11 hours later that thing actually happened to me where I experienced multiple gunshot wounds to my right leg and Detective Kevin Monahan put a tourniquet on my leg, saving my life,” he said. “It’s exactly why we need this training facility.”