Active shooter situations

Dec 08, 2014 Editorial

A frightening thought should be going through the minds of public spirited Guyanese who might be inclined to jump into situations where they feel the need to render their immediate assistance to helpless others.
The Beterverwagting Post Office robbery on December 2 raises the spectre of what might have occurred if a licenced firearm holder was on the scene and had engaged those bandits.
Several scenarios would have likely ensued including the innocent being caught in a crossfire; or those pensioners who were in the building being held hostage; or the bandits being surprised and shot dead while they were making their escape; or the public spirited John Public himself (or herself) being fatally wounded by the bandits; or worse yet coming under fire by responding police ranks who interpreted his/her involvement as the actions of an accomplice.
The point for all the foregoing raises questions about what a civic-minded individual should do when s/he observes a crime in progress. The safest thing to do might be to quietly disappear and leave the hapless and helpless to their fate, but that is not necessarily how the mind works.
And therefore an armed (or sometimes unarmed) person who is trained to respond to situations such as robberies or other active shooter incidents will possibly jump right in with no second thought to personal danger.
The constant threat of armed robberies has become something which at this time needs to be addressed by formally enshrined procedures to responding law enforcement officers as well as advice to civilians who may be caught in those traumatic situations.
Not to be ignored is the possibility that a licenced firearm holder who might be the first person to actively engage the bandits might be mistaken for a ‘bad guy’ by the police who are arriving on a scene that is probably chaotic to begin with.
The public must be told what is expected of them as innocent bystanders caught in the middle; the public spirited citizen must be advised what his actions and behaviour should be when the police arrive; and the police must be trained to make an accurate assessment of the picture that is presented when they arrive on the scene to avoid targeting someone who in the irretrievable end turns out to be a friend.
The foregoing circumstances can be captured in a handbook developed for just such situations so that everyone is aware of exactly what actions and reactions are required of them.
In workplace scenarios, designated staff can also be equipped on how to prepare and manage these situations. One other remarkable thing about Guyanese is that at the sound of gunshots almost everyone rushes to capture the action on their camera phones. The health system had better be prepared to deal with mass casualties one of these days if people do not shed that unhealthy curiousity.
But just as importantly is the appearance on a shooting scene of armed off-duty cops in various forms of civilian dress; some scruffy-looking in short pants and all the rest of what passes for casual wear.
The danger in that is as in the case of the armed public-spirited Joe, a fatal mistake such as falling to friendly fire is not an impossibility. Therefore, the authorities will need to review the current way things are done with particular emphasis on how off-duty officers are expected to operate under those circumstances.
Upon reflection, the response by off-duty ranks from the disciplined services is to be commended since their actions are prompted by a desire to prevent the furtherance of a crime in progress, including stopping the threat and preventing loss of life.
But that noble intention does not take away the responsibility of the authorities to address what is essentially an occupational hazard in circumstances where there has not been time to establish a formal command structure due to the unplanned nature of the event.
An identification card should be prominently displayed on the person of all ranks attending a crime scene to avoid the high level of disorganization that characterizes scenes of crime. One obvious benefit of such a decision would be that the risk of unauthorized persons infiltrating a crime scene would be eliminated.

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Active shooter situations

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