“Behind the Badge” “Active Shooters”
By Joseph Pangaro
Several years ago a couple of high school students in Columbine Colorado went on a killing rampage. They plotted an attack on their fellow students at Columbine High School. Their weapons of choice were guns and homemade bombs. They made notes and written plans. They made videos of their intentions and then they acted. When that horrible day was over, many students were dead, a teacher was killed bravely trying to protect other students and the two demons that started the whole thing killed themselves.
The attack in Colorado was the most visible in a long and growing line of Active Shooter incidents nationwide. That incident also changed the way police officers respond to these fast moving and violent situations.
The question we have to ask is; are these incidents a new phenomenon in our society or have they always been with us? I think it is clear that homicidal rage and people striking out with deadly violence has been with humanity since the beginning of time. These Active Shooter incidents though do seem to be a hallmark of our time. Children shooting other children, the growing scourge of gangs in our towns and cities, angry, misunderstood people using murder as a weapon to punctuate their personal pain, real or imagined.
Almost every day you can find a story about an active shooter somewhere in the country. As a training officer in my agency I am always on the lookout for these types of incidents so I can try and learn from them and provide my officers with insight and information to protect our community.
All police agencies in New Jersey are mandated to train on Active Shooter situations and to run live practice drills every couple of years. This training is very important for our officers, it prepares them to react professionally and quickly to a call like this. Since the training first became part of our lives I have seen a change in the cops. They think about the possibilities and they prepare themselves mentally to handle the stress and difficulties associated with these potential incidents.
In reality, statistics tell us that the large majority of our towns will never experience an Active Shooter incident. They are on the increase and they do get a lot of media attention in our 24/7 media world, but they do not strike everywhere, everyday. Of that we can all be thankful. We can also be comfortable in the knowledge that our officers are actively preparing for the unlikely event of an active shooter incident. Of all the things we do train for, this is one that has great value because the incidents can have such a powerful impact on the people and communities involved.
The next part of this situation to understand is that while most people think of schools as the place for active shooter incidents like; Columbine high school, Virginia Tech, and the schools in Georgia where they experienced them, these incidents can take place anywhere people congregate.
Some of the places where these incidents regularly take pace are businesses, court houses, shopping malls, municipal buildings and probably the most well publicized location-postal facilities.
The term “Going Postal” became an addition to our everyday lexicon because of the many incidents of active shooter problems they had. In fact most active shooter incidents do not take place in schools at all, they are just the hardest to deal with emotionally.
As a response to this we are all aware of the possibilities and as a society we have responded with increased security at our schools and public buildings, we train our kids and teachers to take pro-active action to protect themselves and these steps all help keep us safe.
One of the lessons learned from active shooter incidents over the years is the fact that most of the people that go off and do these crimes often let it be known they are on the edge. They tell friends and co-workers about their anger or dissatisfaction with their work place or bosses. Many kids are on the social media web sites like Facebook, My Space and other web sites that cater to interpersonal conversation and they say what’s bothering them and how they intend to handle it. We have to look for the signs.
We have to listen to what people say and take them seriously. If we hear someone in crisis or someone making threats, we have to let someone know. In many previous violent incidents people have heard and seen the warning signs and have ignored them or discounted them. This can prove deadly. In our modern age of immediate contact people often lay out their anger and intentions for all to see. Most people are just venting, but many are not, many people are preparing to extract their revenge on their perceived wrongdoers.
If we see someone is suffering, in pain, being bullied or otherwise having difficulties and they are making noise about it, tell someone. Getting help for these people before they act out can save innocent lives and their life as well.
We can’t live in fear, but we can live smart when it comes to dealing with the possible dangers of our modern world. Active Shooters are real and they don’t seem to be going away. We can take positive actions to protect ourselves, we can train in our workplaces, we can plan our response to these incidents and we can be aware.
If you have any questions about what you can do at your work place to plan and prepare send me an email- jpangaro@yahoo.com
Let me know what you think.
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