Joplin lightning strike victim Jeff Taylor to be honored by Public Safety Institute

A lightning strike claimed the life of Riverside Police Officer Jeff Taylor, adding to the tragedies which befell Missourians in the wake of the EF5 twister which ravaged Joplin in late May of 2011. Taylor was on the scene responding to the disaster as a part of his duties.

Aside from serving as a police officer, Jeff Taylor also trained as a fire fighter, attending the Public Safety Institute at MCC-Blue River Fire Academy in 2007. He was part of the FA-12 class. The institute is currently organizing an effort to install a plaque dedicated to Jeff’s memory.

A visitation will be held today at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Liberty, Mo. from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The funeral will immediately follow.

ATF sets off IEDs at MCC-Blue River bomb training

An explosive finale capped off a month of ATF training sessions held at MCC-Blue River in May. Most recently, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) offered instruction on improvised explosive devices to area law enforcement officers. ATF took advantage of the Public Safety Institute at MCC-Blue River’s facilities for the training.

Bomb experts from more than twenty local agencies attended the ATF sponsored knowledge sharing sessions. At the end of several days of instruction, ATF chemists concocted six explosive mixtures based on recipes that may be encountered in the field. These six improvised bombs were set off at the Kansas City Police Department’s explosive range

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives trains at MCC-Blue River

ATF Agents study restraint maneuvers at the Public
Safety Institute on the MCC-Blue River campus

The Public Safety Institute at MCC-Blue River is even more active than usual as agents from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms conduct training on premises this May. Special Agent Trista Frederick from ATF was on hand to explain how the bureau benefits from the use of the MCC-Blue River facilities.

“ATF is conducting control arrest techniques training, which includes handcuffing techniques and defensive tactics. The training is intended to teach agents how to safely place individuals under arrest and counteract non-compliant or combative subjects,” said Frederick. Later this month, ATF will return to MCC-Blue River to study explosives, with special attention to home-made or improvised explosive devices.

Asked why MCC-Blue River’s Public Safety Institute was a choice location for training, Fredericks said that “MCC-Blue River is a centrally located, convenient, and a high-quality training facility for ATF’s staff in the Kansas City area.” She went on to site possibilities of future ATF use of MCC-Blue River facilities when planned improvements are in place, saying, “ATF is also excited about MCC-Blue River’s

Video: Older police cars train new officers at MCC-Blue River

KMBC Channel 9's Justin Robinson reported this morning on a trade executed by the Public Safety Institute at MCC-Blue River. Four Blue Springs police cars were traded to the PSI in exchange for police training:

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Protect yourself: Self-Defense Training for Women at MCC-Blue River

Self-Defense Training for Women

Learn to be safe at home, work, school, and even in relationships. The MCC-Blue River Self-Defense Training for Women seminar will increase your awareness and reduce your risk of becoming a crime victim. You will get right in the moment with this reality-based, one-time, four hour course on May 7 from 8 a.m. to noon.

"The paradox of self-defense," according to instructor Rusty Sullivan, "is that the more prepared you are, the less likely you are to need it. When you can recognize and respond effectively to potentially dangerous situations you are more confident in your everyday activities." You are also less likely to become the target of a crime. This training would be invaluable to teenagers and their moms as well.

Instructor Rusty Sullivan is a Belton police officer, Grandview firefighter and the Assistant Chief of Training at MCC-Blue River. Rusty has trained in a variety of martial arts. He is an international instructor who has served eleven years as a S.W.A.T. medic and officer, and has trained with the Israeli Defense Forces, British S.A.S., and others. Rusty is also a police hostage negotiator. He has a dynamic and interactive style of

MCC PD welcomes four new(ish) officers

Booker Armstrong, David Cooper, Joseph Ham and Zach Goode are not new to MCC but as of last night they all have a new title: police officer.

New MCC police officers (l-r) Zach Goode, Joseph Ham, David Cooper and Booker Armstrong were sworn in after the MCC-Blue River Police Academy graduation Wednesday night.


The four former MCC public safety officers graduated from MCC-Blue River's Police Academy alongside 24 other cadets Wednesday night. As required by the State of Missouri, the cadets completed eight months of intense training and passed a rigorous examination in order to become commissioned police officers.

Cooper, who had been lead public safety officer at MCC-Longview, is

MCC-Blue River gets visit from Czech Republic official

The MCC- Blue River campus recently had the honor of a visit from an international expert in the training of public safety officers, Dr. Zdislava Tesařová of the Czech Republic. Tesařová had learned from the Grandview Fire Department that MCC-Blue River’s public safety training is instrumental to successful performance in the field for working fire fighters in Grandview, so she visited  Blue River  to take in a personal view of the training procedures that take place here.

According to Mike Hendershot, the MCC-Blue River Public Safety Institute director, Tesařová “was looking at our training. It was my understanding that she heads up a multi-country task force similar to what FEMA is trying to do here in the states for disaster response.”

Also present for the visit was the doctor’s son, a governmental fire fighter working for the state in the Czech Republic.
For more information about the MCC-Blue River Public Safety Institute, visit their website.