School shootings generate significant media attention, but the averted school attacks provide successful practices and lessons for law enforcement. The goal of the COPS Office and NIJ-funded Police Foundation's Averted School Violence (ASV) initiative is to help prevent further death and injury from violent attacks in schools nationwide, by recognizing and studying the attacks that are averted and to share the lessons learned with those involved in school safety. These averted attacks contain valuable information that if identified and implemented early in schools, can prevent future violence.

A fragmented tactical and medical response will lead to unnecessary loss of life. Through discussion and case studies, attendees will learn how to plan, train, and respond to events in their communities. The concept of civilian, law enforcement, fire, and EMS mass casualty care will be discussed. The goal of this presentation is to empower attendees to return to their communities with a rational and scalable approach to responding to incidents with multiple threats, victims, and responding agencies. The concepts of Rescue Task Force, Officer Down Care, Unified Command, and Tactical EMS will be discussed not as individual components, but rather as a systematic response program.

As the incidents of active violence continue to occur at our educational institutions across the country, the City of Sturgis and Sturgis Public Schools have joined forces and taken measures to be proactive and at the forefront of active shooter/active aggressor trainings. They have developed and implemented a program that includes response training to disarm and attack an active aggressor and has educated the entire district on these techniques. This unique training was developed using parts of various trainings including "run, hide, fight", ground fighting, rape prevention, and others. The thought process was that by using simple techniques, improvised weapons, etc., the more likely that the skills learned would be retained and utilized.

Smaller Agency Track session recording made possible by Engility.

Managing information and support to victims and families, as well as assuring their rights as crime victims, can quickly overwhelm any law enforcement agency responding to a mass casualty event. Mass casualty events often occur in public places and involve victims with no association to an organization or even each other. Victims needing information and support may include the families of the deceased and severely injured, those physically injured, and individuals who were present and suffer emotional injury. While a number of agencies and organizations may respond to an act of mass violence, there are particular points of intersection between law enforcement and victims/families. 

Smaller Agency Track session recording made possible by Engility.

The standard training response to Active Shooter incidents has been and still is overwhelming small unit tactics; 2 to 4 person formations. Unfortunately, with 48% of Law Enforcement agencies in the US being comprised of 10 or fewer sworn personnel, how will you field 4 officers to handle this tactic? And what of the first officer on scene, is he / she supposed to sit outside and wait while carnage is taking place inside? What of the SRO or the officer who just by chance was already on scene, are they supposed to wait in a secure area until helps arrives…..for them? Our profession has to accept that those tactics aren't applicable. A bold step forward must be taken. And that bold step has to be SOLO Engagement Tactics.

Smaller Agency Track session recording made possible by Engility.

The Sutherland Springs Church incident in Texas was a tragic demonstration that Active Attack and Hostile Events strike rural communities. This presentation discusses the journey by police, fire, EMS, hospital, and school agencies in rural Brownwood (TX) to achieve a seamless integrated response capability to Hostile Events. Presenters will discuss lessons learned, including using the Active Shooter Incident Management Checklist, the Counterstrike Active Shooter tabletop system, and testing with a full-scale exercise. Brownwood first responders now have plans in place that have been taught, tested, and vetted to meet local response capabilities. Don't miss hearing the lessons learned and maybe take home a template for your community.

Smaller Agency Track session recording made possible by Engility.