The Naperville Police Department assisted in the Henry Pratt shooting, and were able to learn some important lessons they’ve since implemented within their force.
New Emergency Vehicle
When the shooting occurred, the NPD sent 20 special response officers, along with an armor rescue vehicle, called the ‘bearcat’.
The vehicle is 16-years-old and belongs to the State of Illinois. So if an emergency situation were to happen in another city it would be sent there.
“So we put in our budget for 2020 and at last Tuesday’s city council meeting, city council did unanimously approve the bearcat for the Naperville Police Department,” said Police Chief Bob Marshall.
Ballistic Shields
The department also placed ballistic shields in every one of their squad cars, and rifle ballistic shields in their commander cars.
New Radio System
An issue during the Henry Pratt shooting was communication between emergency personnel, which is why the NPD looked into a radio system that allows them to communicate with each response team.
“We’re on the Harris Radio System. Other police department may have something else such as Motorola. How do you coordinate communications?,” Marshall said. “So we’ve been able to program our radios with Starcom, which allows us to communicate with the other police organizations.”
Mental Health Support
Naperville emergency personnel who assisted with the Henry Pratt shooting were given the option to meet one-on-one with a counselor to help them with any mental health distress from the incident.
Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports.
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