On February 14, 2018, a 19-year-old former student entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland (Florida), killed 17 people, and wounded 17 others. Within moments, deputies from the Broward Sheriff's Office, police officers from neighboring Coral Springs, and numerous other law enforcement officers responded to the campus. Given the known mass casualty situation, crews from the Coral Springs - Parkland Fire Department and other fire service agencies also responded. Working collaboratively, members of the aforementioned departments, particularly patrol and SWAT officers as well as conventional and tactical medics, cleared the affected building, extracted and treated casualties, transported them to area trauma centers, and ultimately apprehended the suspect.

While not the primary law enforcement agency for the City of Parkland, Coral Springs officers worked alongside Broward Sheriff's Office deputies and officers from other Broward County police departments to mitigate the crisis situation. Having trained extensively on concepts such as Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC), Tactical Emergency Medical Support (TEMS), and the utilization of extraction teams and rescue task forces, the Coral Springs Police Department and Coral Springs - Parkland Fire Department will share how the emphasis placed on active assailant response in recent years contributed to a more efficient public safety response than otherwise could have occurred.

Chief Parry has served 31 years with the Coral Springs Police Department, working his way up the ranks from patrol officer to deputy chief. Beginning his career in 1987, he served as a patrol officer until 1989, at which time he was transferred to the Vice, Intelligence and Narcotics (VIN) Unit. During his tenure with the VIN, he was assigned to the Fort Lauderdale District Office of the Drug Enforcement Administration, serving as a Task Force Officer from 1997 until 2006. In late 2006, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant serving in the Patrol Unit and then the VIN. When he was promoted to lieutenant in 2010, he served as a patrol supervisor. In May 2010, he was promoted to captain and assumed command of all patrol operations. In April 2012, he was promoted to Deputy Chief of the Operations Division.
Clyde was "Officer of the Year" in 2002 and "Supervisor of the Year" in 2007 and also received The Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer Award from the United States Attorney's Office in 2010. He holds a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from Columbia Southern University, and is a graduate of the Police Executive Research Forum's Senior Management Institute for Police, the Law Enforcement Executive Development Academy's (LEEDA) Command Institution for Law Enforcement Executives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy.