Defeating The Active Shooter - Fantasy Stage

Congresswoman Gabby Giffords has returned home and is working toward a full recovery.  Her husband is retiring from the Navy and they plan to write a book together about their experiences.  God bless them.  In our jaded times, few events are deemed miraculous, but Giffords' recovery is a miracle. 

However, this is a time to reflect back on the lessons learned about defeating the active shooter. In studying Representative Giffords’ case, I hope we can learn some lessons which will help us avoid similar future crimes.

Lt. Dan Marcou and I had dinner in May during the 2011 ILEETA Conference. He explained his theory to me; the Five Phases of the Active Shooter.
http://www.policeone.com/columnists/dan-marcou/


Dan is an experienced SWAT officer who has identified the following steps which bring a perpetrator to the instant of actually firing on innocent people. They are as follows:

• Fantasy Stage
• Planning Stage
• Preparation Stage
• Approach Stage
• Implementation Stage

Jared Loughner’s college banned him from the school while he was a apparently still in the fantasy stage.  Sadly, local law enforcement was never notified. Had the college teamed up with town police to address Loughner’s situation, the active shooter could have been defeated before a shot was fired.   

My understanding of an active shooter’s fantasy stage caused me concern when I learned that Super Columbine Massacre RPG was available to play on line. Time magazine reported about another School Shooter video game which reenacts both the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings.

I’m as much for the right to free speech as anyone, but this idea of celebrating the successful massacre of innocent people was not what the framers of the Constitution had in mind when the First Amendment was drafted. If this video game is not carnage along the lines of yelling fire in a crowded theater, then what is it?  

The active shooter’s first stage is fantasizing about the event.  Aren’t these games simply facilitating that process? In fact, one can make an argument that the creators are accessories before the fact.

Recently, in a 7-2 vote the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the videos I mentioned are protected under the First Amendment. I find this ruling disturbing. Now that the door has been opened, can a video be developed awarding points to the gamer who does the best job of sexually abusing a woman?  Apparently the U.S. Supreme Court is of the opinion this would be another form of free speech.

We're going to have to work hard to educate the public about the stages of the active shooter to ensure that both civilians, and officers, remain standing.

My Name's Gaffney. I Wear a Badge.

I am a creature of habit.  Like many people, my daily schedule frames my day.  I developed my breakfast routine many years ago as an antidote for the unplanned chaos of the job.  I needed a transitional place to get my game face on, to leave my personal life behind, and gear up for my professional one.  I eat the same breakfast at the same deli with a small seating area every day.  I’ve done this for years.  My name’s Gaffney.  I wear a badge.

I’m a traditionalist.  I like my eggs over easy and my bacon crisp. They don’t ask me, “what’s yours?” because they know what I want. No thank you, I do not want Egg Beaters, a Panini, a scone, or an artisan sandwich. I’m not even sure what an artisan sandwich is.  I do celebrate clichés and have the occasional afternoon donut.  I want my coffee with milk or half and half.  Coffee must be unadorned with extra pumps, sprinkles, foam, caramel flavoring, or soy milk.  Especially not soy milk.  I’m having a cup of coffee not a milkshake.

I sit at the counter, read my paper, and load up on caffeine. I read the old-fashioned paper.  I don’t want to read it on line.  I like the kind of paper you can fold in half, rip an article out of, or prop up against the sugar container to read while you eat bacon.  My deli has no living room chairs, jazz music, fireplaces or laptop docking stations.  And that makes me happy. I’m as adept on my lap top as the next guy, but working on it over breakfast, well…just does not compute.   I read the New York Post Sports section first and then the rest. 

I listen to Westchester County buzz around me.   Sometimes a citizen asks me questions, but mostly I just read my paper in silence.  This suits me just fine.  I am Joe Friday at the deli, a man of few words.   I’m not on duty yet.  I answer questions and solve problems all day long.  My biggest issue first thing in the morning is making sure that the top on my second, “to go” cup of coffee is secured.  I am particularly cautious, since my deli doesn’t label my coffee with a warning that it is hot.  I have to fend for myself there.  The deli’s owners just live life on the risk management wild side, I guess.

A few weeks ago, I worked on a federal holiday. It was 0800 hours and I was on the Boston Post Road.  I started off on my morning routine, but the deli was closed.  I drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry, so to speak. The sensation was disconcerting.  No one checked with me when they closed the deli for Memorial Day.  I went to another spot, but it just wasn’t the same.  Tuesday was a much better day, because my spot at the counter was open again.

And that routine is part of what keeps this officer standing. 

Training is an Investment, Not an Expense

According to KGO-TV, the ABC news affiliate in San Francisco, CA, on May 30, a 57 year old man committed suicide by drowning himself at Crown Beach in Alameda, CA.  Horrified citizens, the man’s mother, and public safety personnel looked on helplessly.

This death is sad for all involved. I understand why people are dissatisfied with the actions of the police and fire departments.   After listening to the representatives of these departments, I can also understand why these officers held their ground.

This story is not about the failure of either department to respond. Both city public safety departments responded.  This suicidal gentleman died because of a failure to train. Training failure is an open invitation to lawsuits time and time again.  Officials cut training because they consider training an expense rather than an investment. The personnel on scene held their ground because they had not been trained, prepared, or equipped to initiate a land-based water rescue.

The end result will be the implementation of land-based water rescue procedures and training. The family will be awarded a settlement out of court.  The City of Alameda will spend much more money after the fact, because it took the death of a suicidal swimmer to establish training which should have been in place when this very sad incident occurred.

First Day

This morning I welcomed two new rookies to the department fresh out of the Academy. They looked incredibly young to me. Raw, nervous. They took me back to my first day in law enforcement many years ago. I hoped that when they looked back on things some day from my vantage point, they would feel that they had made a difference.

I thought about the many changes in law enforcement during my time on the job. Columbine, Ruby Ridge, Oklahoma City, the Branch Davidian cult, Ted Bundy, and the Unibomber. Rodney King and the LA Riots. Video surveillance, Shot Spotter, cell phones, in-car computers, and Facebook. Force Science, tasers, DNA testing, and COMPSTAT. I think that this would have all seemed like Star Wars to the rookie I once was.

The Internet brought new tools for law enforcement to utilize and, conversely, new environments for criminals to exploit. The concept of cyber crime did not exist when I was a rookie. Today it is a major concern for private citizens, major companies, and the government. Now we must cope with the explosion of financial, identity, and sexual exploitation crimes which dominate the computer security field.

The force I joined was a white, male-dominated, cohesive unit. Today’s law enforcement draws on the synergy of diversity…diversity of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and age. I read not long ago that the Virginia State Trooper Academy welcomed a 53 year old recruit starting a new career.

Law enforcement now has non-lethal weapon, forensic, and computer technology which I would have not dreamed possible. We have so many additional tools at our disposal, as well as challenges which can seem nearly insurmountable.

The biggest change? Local law enforcement can never again be a simply reactive agency handling local issues. The events of September 11, 2001 have taught me that the long tentacles of terrorism can reach far. I would have never dreamed that extremists could kill over 3,000 citizens, including 60 brother law enforcement officers who were first responders, just a few miles from my own department.

I flashed back one more time to my first day.  I never imagined that there would be any other department for me or that I would retire to something else.  The end of one thing is the beginning of another and I’m eager to take on the new challenges ahead.

Did I share all these thoughts with the rookies? No. I made sure they had their bullet-proof vests and wished them both well. However, as long as I am on the job, I will do everything I can to ensure that they remain…Officers Standing.