Local law enforcement shares praise for Nashville response

March 28, 2023

WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News Staff,

MARTIN, Tenn. — Local law enforcement shared their reaction to newly released body cam footage from the Nashville shooting.

This image provided by Metropolitan Nashville Police Department shows bodycam footage of police responding to an active shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, March 27, 2023. The former student who shot through the doors of the Christian elementary school and killed three children and three adults had drawn a detailed map of the school. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department via AP)

Tuesday morning, the Nashville Metro Police Department released body cam footage of Officers Rex Engelbert, a 4-year veteran, and Michael Collazo, a 9-year veteran.

“Those officers responded exactly the way they’re trained and exactly the way we’re trained. They responded very quickly. They entered the school and began to methodically search in the school,” said Martin Police Chief Don Teal. “And then when they heard gunshots, they immediately went to the end of the direction of the gunshots.”

SEE THE VIDEO HERE.

“They were able to locate the individual and engage her, and they eliminated the threat,” Teal said. “So everything that I saw, looked like they couldn’t of done anything any better.”

Teal said his officers train for mass shootings. He said in the training, they teach officers how to respond as quickly as possible to the threat and eliminate it.

He said that they are also trained how to respond depending on how many officers they have with them, whether they have four people backing them up or if they’re alone.

“We train every year in some of our schools, and all of our officers are familiar with the layout of every school we have. And like I said, it could happen in churches, schools, or public building, or anything like that. And you try to train to where you know what to do no matter what environment you’re going into,” Teal said.

Teal also said, compared to the Uvalde shooting response, there’s no comparison. He says the officers in Uvalde did not carry through with their training and did not handle the situation correctly.

“These officers in Nashville, they followed their training and did what they were supposed to do. They entered, and that’s what they’re supposed to do. That’s what our job requires, is to respond the way they did,” Teal said.

Teal said it takes a very brave person, such as a trained police officer, to run toward a threat and run toward gunfire.

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