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Don't be alarmed if you see a lot of policemen on and around the Cowley College campus Thursday. Most likely they are there as part of a police exercise that will be conducted throughout the day.

Officers from the Arkansas City Police Department, Cowley Co. Sheriff's Office, Winfield Police Department, the Southwest Kansas Regional SWAT Team, the Arkansas City Fire Department, and South Central Kansas Regional Medical Center will participate in active-shooter scenario training at Cowley College.

With recent college campus shootings, Cowley College approached the Arkansas City Police Department about conducting this kind of training to educate and prepare its security and staff for the possibility of an active shooting incident occurring on campus, Arkansas City Police Chief Sean Wallace said.

There will be three venues during the training. The first venue is at the Cowley College Brown Center. Officers will engage actors in the hallways and classrooms of that facility using semunition weapons which are pistols that shoot soap pellets. Officers will have to locate the active shooter and neutralize him or her. Along the way they will have to engage wounded students, clear rooms, and other emergencies they may encounter.

The second venue is at the Kirkdale Dorms. There officers will practice active shooter approach formations, room clearance techniques, and arrest procedures without weapons.

The third venue is the college cafeteria. A barricaded suspect scenario will take place in the cafeteria involving actors. The Southwest Kansas Regional SWAT Team will practice entry techniques, sniper techniques, and negotiation skills.

The Cowley County Communications will train on tactical communications with the SWAT team and other officers involved. The Arkansas City Fire Department will be training on field triaging and transporting patients to the hospital. The South Central Kansas Regional Medical Center will be testing their response to an influx of victims from a multiple victim shooting incident.

Above: ACPD plays an active role in the community. The department is currently holding a kids camp all this week at Camp Horizon.

Officer John Merz, left, guides Lane Burr, 11, through an obstacle course as he wears goggles that simulate drunken vision Tuesday.