County Courthouse center of shooting simulation
A couple caught up in a drama outside the Dubois County Circuit Courtroom turned into a bloody shooting during the hostile response exercise Tuesday afternoon.
Sheriff’s Department Detective Tom Kleinhelter and Emergency Management Director Tammy Miller portrayed the fighting couple. When the exercise began they broke into a realistic argument that culminated with Kleinhelter pulling a (toy) gun from his belt and firing wildly. Miller attempted to escape the shots by running down the nearby stairs but was hit and ended up on the steps screaming for help.
Employees at the courthouse had been instructed to go to their normal offices and although surprised, reacted quickly to the screams and shots. Calls for the emergency were made and a few moments later officers from the Jasper Police Department and Dubois County Sheriff’s Department joined Courthouse Security Officer Michael Shaw in locating the suspect as EMS tended to Miller’s wounds.
Officers split up and began searching the three floors and basement of the courthouse. The moments were intensified as officers burst through doors into offices containing huddled workers only to be accentuated by Kleinhelter’s random shots ringing out. Searches for the source ensued with more running up and down the stairs of the three story tall building.
This lasted for several moments as Kleinhelter did his best to cause mayhem until being “shot” by Jasper Police Assistant Chief Nathan Schmitt at the base of the stairs to the basement of the courthouse.
The event put on by the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department was designed to teach the county employees at the courthouse how to react during an emergency event. Judging by the roundtable of questions after the event, the training was successful, informative and realistic.
Court Reporter Cindy Horney said she was terrified as the “shooter” ran through the courthouse firing randomly. She described how she peeked out of the door to her office and when she heard shots and running steps, she jumped back into the office shutting the door and flattened against the wall. “I was thinking, ‘oh no, someone’s going to burst in here and hit me with the door’.”
County Clerk Bridgette Jarboe said she thought an exercise like this was important. “We work in a building where the public coming here can be under a lot of stress,” she said.
An incident has never occurred at the courthouse but according to Sheriff Donnie Lampert no amount of training is too much training. He says he would like to have more exercises like this but he wants to avoid the annual stigma of making it an item to check off a checklist.
“Tonight went really well and with the questions and discussion after the exercise, I feel good about the actions they (courthouse workers and elected officials) will take in the event something like this happens,” Lampert said.
