ACR 94, as amended, Rodriguez. Emergency services: active shooter incidents.
This measure would recognize that active shooter incidents are increasing and would encourage local fire, law enforcement, and emergency medical services agenciesbegin insert in coordination with the Office of Emergency Servicesend insert to develop standard operating procedures and coordinated training programs in an effort to more efficiently respond to active shooter incidents in California.
Fiscal committee: no.
P1 1WHEREAS, The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines an
2active shooter as an individual actively engaged in killing or
3attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area; and
4WHEREAS, Since the Columbine High School attack in 1999,
5active shooter incidents have captured a substantial amount of
6public and law enforcement attention; and
7WHEREAS, Eighty-four active shooter events occurred between
82000 and 2010, 16 of which occurred in 2009 and 21 of which
9occurred in 2010; and
P2 1WHEREAS, More than 250 people have been killed in the
2United States during active shooter incidents since the Columbine
3High School shootings in 1999; and
4WHEREAS, Active shooter incidents often occur in smallbegin delete,end delete and
5medium-sized communities where police departments are limited
6by budget constraints and small workforces; and
7WHEREAS, The average active shooter incident are 12 minutes
8in duration, with 37 percent of incidents lasting less than five
9minutes; and
10WHEREAS, Fifty-one percent of active shooter incidents have
11been found to occur in the workplace, while 17 percent occurred
12in a school, 17 percent occurred in a public place, and 6 percent
13occurred in a religious establishment; and
14WHEREAS, During 56 percent of active shooter attacks that
15were ongoing when police arrived, officers had to use force to stop
16the killing; and
17WHEREAS, Patrol officers are most likely responding alone or
18with a partner to an incident, with one-third of those officers who
19enter an incident alone being shot by the intruder; and
20WHEREAS, The recent shooting incident at Los Angeles
21International Airport (LAX) in November 2013 serves as a grim
22reminder that a mass casualty incident can happen at any moment,
23in any location; and
24WHEREAS, In response to this incident, LAX created an Airport
25Response Team, composed of airport employees who will
26voluntarily mobilize during future airport-related emergencies to
27specifically assist with passenger communication and care; and
28WHEREAS, The entry of emergency medical services to an
29attack site are often delayed because law enforcement must conduct
30a thorough search of the scene in order to declare it secure; and
31WHEREAS, The inability, or severely delayed ability, of
32emergency medical services personnel to access an active shooter
33scene have caused a paradigm shift in law enforcement training
34and tactics, as victims are not necessarily expected to escape or
35even survive these situations; and
36WHEREAS, Recent active shooter incidents have underscored
37the need for a coordinated response by law enforcement and others
38to save lives; now, therefore, be it
39Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
40thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes that active
P3 1shooter incidents appear to be increasing and further encourages
2local fire, law enforcement, and emergency medical services
3agenciesbegin insert in coordination with the Office of Emergency Servicesend insert
4 to develop common tactics, communications capabilities, and
5terminology to enable seamless and effective operations during
6an active shooter incident; and be it further
7Resolved, That local fire, law enforcement, and emergency
8medical services agencies are encouraged to establish standard
9operating procedures and coordinated training programs for these
10volatile and dangerous situations in an effort to mitigate risk to
11law enforcement officers, as well as the general public; and be it
12further
13Resolved, That airports, college campuses, and entertainment
14venues, where large groups of people often congregate, should
15consider implementing response teams, similar to that employed
16by LAX, in order to streamline communications with persons
17trapped inside a venue and to maximize crowd control measures
18and evacuation procedures; and be it further
19Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
20of this resolution to the Office of Emergency Services, the
21Department of Justice, and to the author for appropriate
22distribution.
O
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