In the wake of the fatal shooting of 20 students and six adults at a Connecticut school on Friday, Dec. 14, Tracy police Chief Gary Hampton told the Tracy City Council that school safety is a top priority.

Hampton addressed the council during its meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 18. He said the police department has a “very close relationship” with Tracy Unified School District, which he said has made “significant investment in security measures.”

The department practices emergency tactics at least once every four months. In fact, Hampton said, the department was training for a rapid deployment situation the morning of the fatal shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Tracy Unified Superintendent Jim Franco also addressed the council. He said administrators are reviewing safety measures following the killings at Sandy Hook

“Safety is our No. 1 priority,” he said. “Anytime you have a tragedy in another community, you want to look at what you’re doing.”

Paul Hall, director of student services and curriculum for Tracy Unified, also sought to assure the council that administrators are constantly looking for ways to make schools more secure.

“All of our schools have policies they routinely check,” he said. “We practice often with the Tracy Police Department.”

• Contact Jon Mendelson at 830-4231 or jmendelson@tracypress.com.