During the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission meeting Friday, Newtown's Police Chief told the panel that a problem in Connecticut is police officers only have jurisdiction in their own towns unless they see a felony being committed. 

Michael Kehoe says what helped on December 14th was that land line calls go to the town's emergency call center.  Cell phone calls go to the state police center.  So they didn't have to take time to call state police to respond, because they were already on the way.

"Every precious second meant a precious life.  We know that, and that's why response is so critical.  That's why everybody goes.  Everybody has to go because you never know what you're going to face when you get there."

The panel was told that there was an added challenge that morning, a secondary active shooter call on the outside of the building.  Kehoe said they had to determine whether or not that was an accurate report.

"It turns out in the end, it wasn't.  But we didn't know that when responding."

Kehoe says Sandy Hook is the largest elementary school in Newtown with plenty of places to hide.  Officers couldn't assume because the shooter was found early in the search of the building that there wasn't another shooter.  He said they had to make sure the entire facility was safe.

Kehoe says the shooter did face barriers.  Security measures to screen people coming into a school and anything making it harder for an intruder to get to intended victims becomes precious time.

"Just our arrival saved lives.  Obviously the response of those teachers in those classrooms saved lived.  The response of those staff members who came out to confront the gunman they took precious seconds"

Kehoe says in the two weeks after the shooting, the needed a lot of officers because of daily threats to the community, funerals and wakes to handle, traffic problems because of memorials set up around town, three command posts, an active investigation and two crimes scenes to secure.

He deployed 60 to 120 officers on a given day during those two weeks.  On a typical day Newtown deploys four to 10 officers.  Kehoe says officers came from as far away as Stonington and if one was injured, liability through mutual aid agreements only covered Fairfield County.