Active Shooter Drills

Are you planning a hyper-realistic active shooter drill? Please don't. I recently heard about a company planning an active shooter drill that made my jaw drop. Their plan? Stage a hyper-realistic scenario with fake guns, fake blood, actors playing attackers, and here’s the kicker: don’t tell employees it’s a drill until after it happens. The thinking apparently is that this will give employees the “most realistic” experience possible. If they go forward with it, let’s also hope they have their attorneys on standby because this is just a crazy reckless idea. If someone at your company even proposes anything remotely similar, this post might save you from a legal nightmare. Here are just a few of the disasters you're creating. When you deliberately create a scenario where employees believe they’re in mortal danger, you’re creating a workplace injury. Psychological trauma can be a recognized workers’ compensation claim. Employees who experience panic attacks, anxiety, PTSD, or other psychological injuries from believing they were about to die will file workers’ comp claims. In droves. Beyond workers’ comp, some intentional acts are so egregious that employees may try to raise lawsuits in addition to claims. For example, it wouldn’t be unheard of for an employee to sue for negligent infliction of emotional distress by claiming the company owed a duty of care to its employees and breached it by creating an unnecessarily traumatic situation. Even worse, intentional infliction of emotional distress requires conduct that is “extreme and outrageous” and goes “beyond all possible bounds of decency.” Deliberately making employees believe they’re about to be murdered would certainly create a colorable claim. And then there’s this scenario which should terrify every risk manager: What happens when an employee, believing they’re facing an actual active shooter, takes physical defensive action? The “run, hide, fight” protocol specifically contemplates fighting back as a last resort. So if the company trained employees that if confronted with a shooter, they might need to attack. Active shooter preparedness training should include advance notice, classroom-based education on “run, hide, fight” protocols, tabletop exercises that walk through scenarios verbally, and if you do a physical drill, make it absolutely clear it’s a drill beforehand. Use obviously fake props if any props at all. Make repeated announcements that “this is a drill.” Work with local law enforcement or professional security consultants who know how to conduct this training safely and appropriately. Your goal should be prepared employees, not traumatized ones. You can achieve the first without creating the second.

Ep 35. Six evidence-based ways to prepare teachers for a school shooting Dr. Albert Spiegel discusses his dissertation "A Qualitative Study to Determine Teacher Self-Efficacy in Active Shooter Incidents in One Catholic Secondary School". Six recommendations: 1. Drilling is more than a repetition of predetermined steps. 2. Schools should dedicate time to drilling without students present. 3. Teachers need to physically attempt active shooter drills from each of their assigned classrooms.  4. Teachers should be given the opportunity to observe other teachers during drills. 5. Feedback must be given to teachers after each drill. 6. Communications is key in any emergency. Teachers must have the ability to send and receive information.

Sat in on an excellent presentation by Joe Hammond of the Monroe County (MI) Sheriff's Office as he walked through how he conducted a full-scale active shooter exercise in his district. I was thankful to see a Rescue Task Force (RTF) incorporated in the drill. In the aftermath of active shooter incidents, we often see metrics around how long it took for someone to call 911, how long it took to call a lockdown, how long it took for the entry team to get to work, and then threat mitigation. We often don't hear about the time between people being injured and receiving treatment. The reality is that gunshot victims can bleed to death in five minutes. Getting the RTF into the warm zone can improve the outcome. 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 A Rescue Task Force (RTF) is a team composed of EMS (emergency medical services) and law enforcement personnel that enters the "warm zone"-areas cleared but not fully secured- to provide rapid, life-saving medical care to victims during an active shooter incident. Their main tasks include controlling severe bleeding, managing airway compromise, and stabilizing victims for quick evacuation to definitive care. 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 RTFs operate under the protection of armed law enforcement, who provide security while EMS personnel deliver medical interventions. This collaboration allows medical teams to reach victims sooner, reducing delays if EMS waits for the entire scene to be declared safe. 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲 The RTF moves victims who cannot self-evacuate to casualty collection points for further treatment and transport. They treat victims as encountered, prioritizing immediate life-saving interventions rather than full triage. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 The RTF model minimizes care delays, increases survival rates, and streamlines communication and coordination among first responders. In summary, the Rescue Task Force plays a critical role by delivering urgent medical care in areas not yet fully secure, under law enforcement protection, to save lives during active shooter incidents.