Prepared for Lethal Situations [VIDEO]

While Concord does not have a lot of shooting incidents involving police officers and suspects on the streets of the city, , officials are prepared for just about anything, according to , chief of the .

Duval said the shooting in Manchester comes at a time when police in Concord are in the middle of simulated training on how to deal with lethal force situations on the job. Twice a year, police train with firearms, carrying real weapons with fake ammunition, while going through the process of real life reenactment, he said. Another part of the training is going through the laws of engagement in lethal force situations, Duval said.

“Officer safety tactics is a priority for us,” he said. “We train all of the time. Situations that may result in lethal force is on the forefront of what we do at roll calls. We use situations across the country, and unfortunately, in this case, locally, to highlight the reality of modern law enforcement and the chance that we may put in a situation where lethal force is used or that we may be the target of lethal force from a suspect or a perpetrator.”

Concord does not have a lot of shooting situations so police officers do not necessarily fear facing a situation like the shooting that occurred in Manchester. However, Duval said officers were constantly aware of the danger.

"When you’re aware, you heighten the things you’re trained to do,” he said.

Duval said most incidents of drug interdiction or motor vehicle stops don’t create shooting situations but have offered other dangers, such as sticks, knives, pellet guns, and toy guns, burglary situations “where lethal force could have played out but didn’t play out.”

Recently, the police confiscated an with a search warrant. Fortunately, the warrant was served without incident, Duval noted. But a weapon of that caliber could have caused a major incident had the perpetrator acted differently during the seizure.

“We’ve been very fortunate that we have not experienced the lethality that just 20 miles south of us, they’ve, unfortunately, experienced,” he said.

When Concord Police are involved in certain situations, they go through a critical incident debriefing, and assessments for the officers and their families, if needed. Duval said some in the department have used the assessment services, just to make sure they are ready to come back. Firearms retraining qualification is also required, he said, regardless of whether the shooting was lethal or not.

Being a police officer, Duval said, is a difficult job. The officers can be in and see many stressful situations. He noted that complaints about early retirement and pension liability were a small price to pay considering what some officers go through during their time on the force.

“It’s not easy,” he said. “I would argue at the forefront, that the exposures to these types of things, the going to work, year after year after year, with the thought that you may end up in a lethal situation and the effects that has on the employees and their families … waiting for the eight hour or 16 hour shift to finish … seeing crime scenes … it’s that accumulated effort, over a period of 20 years, that is deserving of that retirement system.”

Duval said it was the same with first responders, such as firefighters, who deal with some of the same stresses.

While Duval does not know Police Officer Daniel Doherty, the officer involved in the shooting in Manchester this week, he said some officers in the department know him. Not only are police departments in the state and country supporting one another, they are concerned about his health and well-being.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the officer,” he said, noting that he had reached out to the in Manchester about the situation.