A PIOs Response to an Active Shooter

Monday of this week started out just like any other day.  Little did I know, a short 3 hours after beginning my day, the unthinkable would occur.  I often think, is today the day? Well, this past Monday was the day.  One of our local high schools, in our county, received a credible active shooter threat. When you hear the dispatch, your world stops while your mind processes the information you just heard.  Once you realize “today’s the day” that you have been dreading for many years of your public safety career.

First thing for a PIO during any large incident, arrive safely on the scene. When the adrenaline is elevated, the human body typically pushes harder and harder.  You have to take actions to slow the mind down. An exercise I do when I get the “hot” call that gets the heart pumping and the mind is racing, once I am in my vehicle, and before I put it in gear I:

1. Close my eyes.
2. Inhale deeply thru the nose.
3. Exhale thru my mouth.

This seven-ten second exercise increases the oxygen to the thinking side of your brain which allows you to think more clearly and safely respond. In my 30 plus years of emergency response, I have used this exercise many times and have had great success using this tool.

As a PIO, your job starts the moment the dispatch is received.  Immediately you must start listening to the radio channels or talkgroups to gather information.  Information can include things like:

1. What type of incident is occurring?
2. How many victims injured or deceased if known?
3. What emergency apparatus is responding to the scene?
4. Who is in charge (Incident Command)?
5. Where is the command post?
6. Will this incident get the attention of the news media?
7. Do I need to notify the media a PIO is going to the scene?
8. If media is going to be interested in this story, where should I send the media to?
   1. I need a safe location out of the way, but close enough to the scene for the media to get pictures and/or video.
   2. Depending on incident size, this media staging area may need to be large enough for satellite or remote transmitter vehicles.

Depending on the nature of the incident, while you are gathering information and responding to the scene, it is not uncommon for the news media to be calling your cellular phone trying to confirm the incident with you. You must make the decision to answer or not answer. Do you have the capability of answering hands free, and maintaining your driving safety and the safety of other motorists. Safety must remain the number one priority when making these decisions.

The next question you have to ask yourself, do I have the latitude with my department to answer questions from the media without speaking to the incident commander or my department supervisor? Obviously if the media is calling, they have heard about the incident.  If you do not have the latitude to start answering questions or you do not have any information to give the media, do not answer the phone.

Once you arrive on scene, make contact with the Incident Command and let them know you are the PIO and you are available on scene. Always remember, scene accountability is part of safety, and it must be a requirement at all times.  Ask the Incident Commander the following:

1. A brief synopsis of the scene.
2. What dangers exist for the public.
3. What actions is the department taking to handle the situation?
4. Are there any specific instructions IC needs to have passed along to the public.
5. Is there anything which cannot be talked about or told to the public? (Especially for crime scenes)

Once you have received the information from the Incident Commander, you are now ready to talk with the media.  In order to get the right information, to the right people, at the right time, we need to:

1. Notify the media who is the PIO for the incident.
2. Where should the media go for information.
3. What time you will be giving an update to the media.
4. Any safety information the media needs to know.
   1. Routes of travel.
   2. Crime scene threats.
   3. Hazardous areas they must avoid.

Throughout the incident, it is important to maintain a schedule with the media and communicate when updates will be made available.  Maybe you will do updates every hour, every 2 hours, every 6 hours, etc.  The media needs to know when and where the updates will be given.

If you want to intentionally keep the media at a specific location, do your media updates frequently.  During a shooting incident a few years ago, we did not want the media roaming around the small town, since it was the middle of the night and law enforcement did not know the exact location of the suspect. I did media updates every hour on the hour.  At each update, I spoke for roughly 15 minutes.  This high frequency of updates, did not give the media enough time to break down their equipment, go in search of more “action”, and be able to get back and setup in time for the next update.

In order to help fill this aggressive schedule, I finished each update session with “What additional information can I try to get for you, that would help your story?”   During the next 45 minutes, I worked to gather as many answers to their follow up questions as I could.  By getting answers to their follow up questions, I was able to help them fulfill their news story angle and it kept the media in a safe location.

At the end of the day, we need the media as much as they need us.  As a PIO, we need to work together with the media to ensure our messages are pushed out to the public accurately and timely.  In my next blog, I will focus on my “on-scene” checklist I use as a public information officer.

Until next time, be sure to check out my website, www.thepioguy.com for more tips, tidbits, and tricks to improve your crisis communication skills.  Stay safe, Stay Informed and Stay Engaged.