13-02-2025
I-TEAM: Bus drivers trained to spot, stop threats
ORANGE VILLAGE, Ohio (WJW) – A Fox 8 I-TEAM camera rolled on board a school bus to see what drivers are being trained to do to protect your kids if a student brings a gun on a bus.
The I-TEAM watched as Sheila Dikowicz, Orange City School District Transportation Director, showed off her training on how to deal with a gunman, or any active threat, on her bus.
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Dikowicz and other bus drivers from her district have gone through the School Transportation Active Threat Response Training program.
The S.T.A.R.T program is taught by a team of current and former law enforcement and security experts, crisis intervention specialists, military, and mental health officials. The instructors say they help provide school bus drivers with tools to help protect themselves and their passengers.
'Even knowing it's a drill that you are practicing it takes your breath away for a second,' Dikowicz said 'Anytime you interview a school bus driver they'll call them (the students on the bus) my kids.'
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During the training, drivers learn how to use the bus as a weapon to fight back by using sudden movements that help throw an attacker, or someone with a gun, off balance. Drivers also learn how to confront a threat directly.
For instance, in a training scenario, we watched Sheila Dikowicz stop the bus, yell 'Get off the bus!', then get out of her seat and run to the back of the bus and a suspected gunman.
'We teach them that we can't do nothing,' said Todd Dietzel, a S.T.A.R.T instructor. 'We can't sit idly by and not have a plan. There are things you can do on the bus. Swerving, rapid acceleration, braking, get them off balance so they stop. We're not asking people to be superheroes. We are not asking people to put an 'S' on their chest. It's just situational awareness. Be more aware of your surroundings.'
Jim Levine, President of S.T.A.R.T , said bus drivers are first responders.
'We put a lot of emphasis on safety at the schools,' Levine said. 'We need to also focus on how safe are they on the bus?'
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The FOX 8 I-TEAM obtained school bus video from December in Vermilion when police said a 12-year-old shot a pellet gun at the bus. The bus was carrying elementary school kids. No one was hurt.
S.T.A.R.T organizers point to other violence on school buses across the nation. Instructors noted the drivers get trained on how to look for weapons, bombs, or suspicious packages. And also, how to pay attention to pieces of paper left behind, like a threatening note.
'What if a student leaves something behind,' said Doug Nichols, S.T.A.R.T instructor. 'And what is on that note? Do you like me? Check a box yes, or no? Or, in this case, today's the day, and there's a picture of a pipe bomb.'
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S.T.A.R.T instructor Greg Truhan said bus drivers see the same kids every day, so they need to be able to notice if any student starts acting differently.
S.T.A.R.T instructors have given the bus threat training to drivers in school districts in Ohio and around the country. They tell us it's training that they hope bus drivers will never have to use.
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