Vermont police face backlash after staging a shooting in front of high school students

Police in Burlington, Vermont, have faced heavy criticism for a controversial surprise shooting they staged in front of students at Burlington High School on Wednesday.

The demonstration was held for students in Burlington High School’s end-of-year study program and included a role-playing exercise with police officers, the police department said in a statement Thursday.

“The … scenario simply involved three department employees simulating a robbery and was not directed against students or faculty,” the department said, later adding that toy weapons were used in the demonstration at the police station.

According to a newspaper in Vermont Seven daysThe scenario was intended to demonstrate the “unreliability of witness testimony.”

The presentation had been approved in late May by staff at the district’s Year End Studies (YES) program, who reportedly agreed to notify parents and students in advance, the department said. But students received no warning and ran for cover, Seven Days reported. Students and parents were reportedly shocked and outraged.

“We take our responsibility for student safety very seriously and deeply regret that this incident occurred,” school officials said, according to WPTZ-TV in Burlington“We recognize the impact this incident may have had on students’ mental health and well-being, and we want to inform parents and students that staff at our counseling centers and mental health offices will continue to be able to provide support tomorrow if needed.”

The department also apologized on Thursday, pointing out that a post had been circulating on social media about how upset students were after the lecture.

“The Burlington Police Department apologizes to any students in attendance who were upset by the specific scenario and crime scene portion of the presentation,” the statement said.

HuffPost reached out to Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak and the Burlington School District Superintendent for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

According to the police department, staff from the school district’s YES program contacted police in April to conduct a presentation after the department conducted a “successful” demonstration for another program within the school district last fall.

The police department and YES program staff reportedly discussed the details of the session beforehand. The police department said it would be “as realistic as possible.” It asked if staff thought students would be OK with it, and they reportedly confirmed that students were OK with it.

Although authorities said the scenario was not a crime directed against students, experts stressed how traumatic such situations, including school shooting drills, can be for students.

Most U.S. states require schools to conduct shooting drills to prepare students and teachers for such an incident, especially since violence in schools and communities has occurred across the country in recent years. PBS reportedBut one current report by Everytown for Gun Safety shows that shooting practice can have worrying effects on mental health.

The results of the study, which analyzed millions of social media messages and over 1,000 Reddit posts about 114 schools in 33 states, showed that after the school shooting drills, posts showed a 42 percent increase in anxiety and stress and a 39 percent increase in depression compared to before the drills.

The data also showed that this trend continued at least 90 days after the exercises, regardless of the school environment or tactics used.

The police department will meet with students and district staff on Friday to discuss the presentation and its impact.

“We hope this can be a reflective growth opportunity for all parties,” the police department wrote in its statement.