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"Oh my god, I'm gonna get shot" — Vermont cops terrorize high school students with mock mass shooting [1]

['Mark Frauenfelder']

Date: 2024-06-06  

The Burlington, Vermont Police Department has a pretty weird way of teaching kids. Just imagine being a teenager, going to the local police station for your forensics class and suddenly, out of nowhere, a masked gunman bursts in and starts shooting.



As reported in Seven Days, the officers decided to do a surprise mock shooting at their own station. The goal? To show that witness statements can't always be trusted. The result? Scared out of their wits, the students immediately dove for cover, thinking they were about to die. One student even scraped her knee diving to the floor, while another frantically texted her mom, convinced she was about to be killed. She said, "I'm shaking and crying because I'm like, 'Oh my god, I'm gonna get shot.' It felt so real."



The Burlington School District quickly apologized and offered counseling services, but the police department's response was more like "Sorry, not sorry." They said the scenario had been approved by the school staff and was meant to be "as realistic as possible." Nothing like simulating a massacre to teach the kids a lesson.



Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak expressed her disappointment, pointing out that the police should "reflect on why [the demonstration] was problematic."



In the words of the police department, they said "We hope that this can be a reflective growth opportunity for all parties," the department wrote.



And I hope that next time, they choose a "reflective growth opportunity" that doesn't involve traumatizing teenagers with a fake gunman.

Previously: US Police have stolen $68 billion in the past 20 years from American citizens without due process



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