ODESSA, Texas — We know in today’s world we are faced with the possibility of an active shooter at all times, with that becoming a reality in Midland-Odessa on August 31, 2019. In the years that have followed the mobile mass shooting, the Odessa Police Department has added many proactive strategies and safety procedures four years later.
There has been action made to be prepared in these situations moving forward at both the state level and in West Texas.
August 31, 2019 was a day that changed everything.
“As a police department we’re much more aware of those types of things," said Michael Gerke, Police Chief for the Odessa Police Department.
For OPD, it has created lasting impacts.
"All of our officers, when they enter the police academy, before they come out, they will be alert certified," Chief Gerke said. "So that means they have the training that the State of Texas has prescribed that they need to handle an active shooter -- be that by themselves, in small groups or in large groups or with muliple teams, with paramedics going in to help with the injured -- all those situations."
Chief Gerke added that they have something today that they did not in 2019 – increased technology.
"We have a real-time crime center with a wall of video boards that we can track things that are going on in the city," Chief Gerke said. "We had no cameras that we had access to around the city that could have helped track us. We didn't have license plate readers at that time that would help us track. We have all those things now."
Another piece of technology is the Active Shooter Alert System. Two years ago, Brooks Landgraf -- Odessa State Representative and Republican representing House District 81 -- helped it pass and be implemented.
“The Texas Active Shooter Alert System, with these Leilah alerts, is designed to work a lot like an Amber alert, although we have made a few modifications," Landgraf said back in 2021. "But in the event of an active shooter situation, local law enforcement works with DPS to activate the system that’ll send notifications to your cell phone.”
Those notifications can then save lives.
“That will allow us to notify our citizens that this is happening and then also give instructions as ‘shelter in place, don’t come out, this area’s been affected’ – that sort of thing," Chief Gerke said.
Positive, preventive strategies formed from a dark day to keep West Texans secure and safe.
“Technology is going to play a tremendous role in the future of policing," Chief Gerke said.
Chief Gerke noted that Midland law enforcement also helped respond four years ago. The City of Odessa and Midland County are currently working towards a fiber connection between radio cores that will better communication for first responders in the area.