Elementary teachers who were shot 'execution style' with airsoft guns by Indiana sheriffs during active shooter training DRILL file lawsuit claiming they were left 'bloodied, bruised and traumatized' by the officers

Eight Indiana elementary school teachers who were shot ‘execution style’ with airsoft guns during an active shooter drill last year are suing the sheriff’s department who conducted the training for physical and emotional trauma.

The educators, from Meadowlawn Elementary School, had undertaken ALICE training from the White County Sheriff’s Office in January 2019 when they say they were left 'bruised, bloodied and traumatized' by the supervising officers.

ALICE training - which stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate - teaches people to respond to a school shooter and take on a proactive role, learning counter actions, instead of the traditional duck-and-cover.  

The lawsuit, filed last week in Indiana’s northern federal court by Nicole Baltes, Jeanne Franks, Abby Hare, Breanne Paulik, Talaina Pinkerton, Darcy Slade, Danielle Snyder, and Carrie Zook, claims the officers subjected them to ‘verbal threats, expletives and screaming’.

The plaintiffs also say they were struck numerous times with plastic pellets fired from airsoft guns, often from 'point-blank range'.

‘The teachers displayed obvious signs of anguish and physical pain, but were humiliated to find the law enforcement officers joking and laughing at them,’ the lawsuit reads. ‘The terrifying and inexplicable experience left the teachers with lasting physical and emotional injuries.’

Meadowlawn Elementary School teachers Abby Hare and Darcy Slade (left, and center) were reportedly so traumatized from the incident they quit teaching.  Carrie Zook (right) also described being left traumatized after the incident

Nicole Baltes (left) claims she was shot forcefully in the stomach, and, hoping to avoid being shot again, she crawled under a table and curled up in the fetal position. Danielle Snyder said she was emotionally changed as a teacher and now experiences elevated levels of fear and anxiety while doing her job. (pictured right is fellow teacher Breanne Paulik)

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The educators, from Meadowlawn Elementary School (above), had received what’s called ALICE training from the White County Sheriff’s Office in January last year when they were left bruised, bloodied and traumatized by the supervising officers.

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ALICE training is an ‘options-based’ approached to active shooter preparation that encourages educators and students to be proactive in their responses to a gunman on campus (file photo)

Two of the teachers, Abby Hare and Darcy Slade, said they were left so traumatized by the incident they decided to quit teaching after the school year concluded.

Jeanne Franks, who had taught for 27 years, said the incident prompted her to retire several years earlier than planned.

First-grade teacher Talaina Pinkerton, meanwhile, was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and continues to take prescription medication for it to this day, the complaint states.

Sheriff Bill Brooks, who is among the officers named in the complaint, told IndyStar after the incident last year that the department had since stopped using the airsoft guns.

‘We were made aware that one teacher was upset,’ he told the outlet. ‘And we ended it.’

The teachers were meant to be receiving ALICE training, an ‘options-based’ approached to active shooter preparation that encourages educators and students to be proactive in their responses to a gunman on campus.

Such tactics taught during the session included rushing at a shooter in specific situations.

While thousands of schools across the country carry out ALICE training, participating teachers being shot with plastic pellets is not typically part of the program.

In total, 35 teachers from Meadowland participated in the training. The eight to have signed onto the lawsuit say they were each left with bruises, welts and abrasions from being shot with airsoft guns from ‘point-blank range'. 

In one instance, the eight teachers said a 'shooting' was conducted 'execution style', according to the complaint. 

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A lawsuit, filed last week in Indiana’s northern federal court by Nicole Baltes, Jeanne Franks, Abby Hare, Breanne Paulik, Talaina Pinkerton, Darcy Slade, Danielle Snyder, and Carrie Zook, claims the officers subjected them to ‘verbal threats, expletives and screaming’

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While thousands of schools across the country carry out ALICE training, participating teachers being shot with plastic pellets is not typically part of the proceedings (file photo)

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The officers named as defendants in the suit were listed as Sheriff Bill Brooks, David Roth, Evan Morrow, Ryan Glover, Patrick Shafer, and Mark Helms

The complaint states the teachers were broken up into small groups and told by the attending deputies to line up facing a wall and kneel.

Once they obliged with the command, an officer shot the teachers across their backs.

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Sheriff Bill Brooks (above)  is among the officers named in the complaint. The lawsuit claims officers used excessive force, committed assault and battery, intentionally inflicted emotional distress and subjected teachers to unreasonable seizure and false imprisonment

They were then allegedly instructed by the officers not to inform the other teachers, who were waiting in another room, of what had happened.

Later in the day, the teachers say they participated in a number of drills in which they were instructed at different times to hide in classrooms, attempt to barricade doors from potential intruders, and throw tennis balls at officer as they advanced toward them.

The complaint states that each of the drills began with an officer ‘striding quickly down the hallway, loudly banging on walls while screaming furiously, yelling out numerous obscenities and threats, such as… “I’m going to kill you all!”’

During each of the drills, the teachers say they were once again shot with airsoft guns, sometimes with multiple officers shooting them at the same time, the complaint says.

‘Throwing the tennis balls forced the participants to stand up and further expose themselves to being shot,’ the complaint reads. ‘Ms. Pinkerton was shot in her stomach, resulting in a permanent scar. Ms. Franks felt too frightened to rise and throw tennis balls, so she stood frozen in a corner of the room for the entirety of the drill, hoping not to get shot.’

Baltes claims she was shot forcefully in the stomach, and, hoping to avoid being shot again, she crawled under a table and curled up in the fetal position.

An officer, named in the complaint as Officer Ryan Glover, then reportedly quickly found her, aimed directly at her body, and shot her three times from close range as she was immobile on the floor.

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During each of the drills, the teachers say they were once again shot with airsoft guns, sometimes with multiple officers shooting them at the same time, the complaint says (file photo)

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Two of the teachers, Abby Hare and Darcy Slade, said they were left so traumatized by the incident they decided to quit teaching after the school year concluded.

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First-grade teacher Talaina Pinkerton, meanwhile, was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and continues to take prescription medication for it to this days, the complaint states

The complaint says that throughout the rotating drills, the residing officers repeatedly smirked and laughed at the female teachers as they were being hit with bullets, crying out in paid, or demonstrating ‘extreme fear’.

In addition to Pinkerton’s scar, each of the teachers reported suffering physical injuries that took anywhere from several days to several weeks to heal.

However, they say their injuries weren’t just limited to the physical. They say that during the ALICE program they experienced ‘severe emotional distresses.’

Snyder said she was emotionally changed as a teacher and now experiences elevated levels of fear and anxiety while doing her job.

Pinkerton experienced bursts of anger against people close to her and struggled to focus on basic tasks at home.

And Franks, who described herself as a previously trusting person, said she felt ‘deeply violated’ by the officers’ actions.

‘Given that the Defendants administering the attacks were in law enforcement – the occupation she had viewed as the most trustworthy in society – she now believes there is no one she can trust,’ the suit says of Franks.

All of the teachers reported experiencing some level of emotional distress that continues to affect them presently, the suit says. Two sough psychiatric help.

The officers named as defendants in the suit were listed as Bill Brooks, David Roth, Evan Morrow, Ryan Glover, Patrick Shafer, and Mark Helms. 

The lawsuit claims officers used excessive force, committed assault and battery, intentionally inflicted emotional distress and subjected teachers to unreasonable seizure and false imprisonment. They are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.

The Indiana State Teachers Association, which represents the involved teachers, said it wants to prevent other teachers from going through a similar incident.

‘We do not believe that a school or trainer should conduct any kind of active shooter training drill,’ Keith Gambill, ISTA president told IndyStar, ‘that includes the firing of any type of projectile at an employee or a student.’