BILL ANALYSIS Ó
ACR 94
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 11, 2014
Counsel: Shaun Naidu
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
ACR 94 (Rodriguez) - As Introduced: February 11, 2014
SUMMARY : Memorializes the Legislature's recognition that active
shooter incidents are increasing and encourages local fire, law
enforcement, and emergency medical services agencies to develop
standard operating procedures and coordinate training programs
in an effort to respond more efficiently to active shooter
incidents in California. Specifically, this resolution :
1)Makes declarations regarding the increase of active shooter
incidents since the Columbine High School attack in 1999; the
substantial amount of public and law enforcement attention
these incidents have captured and number of lives they have
taken; and the atmosphere in which these incidents commonly
take place.
2)Makes declarations regarding the paradigm shift in law
enforcement training and tactics and the need for a
coordinated response by law enforcement and others to save
lives.
3)States that it is resolved by the Assembly, with the Senate
concurring, that the Legislature recognizes that active
shooter incidents are increasing and encourages local fire,
law enforcement, and emergency medical services agencies to
develop common tactics, communications capabilities, and
terminology to enable seamless and effective operations during
an active shooter incident.
4)States that it is resolved that local fire, law enforcement,
and emergency medical services agencies are encouraged to
establish standard operating procedures and coordinate
training programs in an effort to mitigate risk to law
enforcement and the public during active shooter incidents and
that places where large groups of people often congregated
should consider implementing response teams in order to
streamline communications with persons trapped inside a venue
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and to maximize crowd control measures and evacuation
procedures.
5)States that it is resolved that the Chief Clerk of the
Assembly transmit copies of this resolution as specified.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the Emergency Medical Services Authority to establish
training standards, that include recommendations from the
Emergency Response Training Advisory Committee, involving the
responsibility of first responders to terrorism incidents and
to address the training needs of those identified as first
responders. (Health & Saf. Code, § 1797.116.)
2)Requires the State Fire Marshall to establish training
standards, that include recommendations from the Emergency
Response Training Advisory Committee, involving the
responsibility of first responders to terrorism incidents and
to address the training needs of those identified as first
responders. (Health & Saf. Code, § 13159.1.)
3)Requires the Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) to contract
with the California Fire Fighter Joint Apprenticeship Program
to develop a fire service specific course of instruction on
the responsibilities of first responders to terrorism
incidents. (Gov. Code, § 8588.11.)
4)Requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and
Training (POST) to establish training standards, that include
recommendations from the Emergency Response Training Advisory
Committee, involving the responsibility of first responders to
terrorism incidents. Allows every police chief and sheriff,
the Commissioner of the Highway Patrol, and other general law
enforcement agency to determine the members of his, her, or
its agency to receive the emergency response to terrorism
incidents training developed by POST. (Pen. Code, §
13519.12.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "In November of
2013, a gunman entered Terminal 3 at Los Angeles International
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Airport (LAX) and opened fire. A TSA officer died and several
others were wounded. Because these types of incidences are
becoming increasingly more frequent, it is vital that our
local law enforcement agencies, emergency medical care
personnel, local government agencies and various venue
locations work together in a coordinated, cohesive manner.
"I have introduced ACR 94 to encourage local fire, law
enforcement, and emergency medical services agencies to
develop common tactics, communications capabilities, and
terminology to enable seamless and effective active shooter
incident operations. This measure will also encourage local
agencies to jointly establish standard operating procedures
and coordinated training programs for active shooter incidents
and to develop Response Teams."
2)Active Shooter Incidents : As stated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), an active shooter is "an individual
actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a
confined and populated area." (Active Shooter/Mass Casualty
Incidents, Federal Bureau of Investigation
[as of Mar. 4, 2014].) Over the course of a
decade and a half, the number of those shot and killed in
active shooter incidents has increased 150% across the
country. (Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General, address to the
Int'l. Assn. of Chiefs of Police Annual Conf. (Oct. 21,
2013).) The FBI provides the following additional statistics
information about active shooter incidents in the United
States:
a) Active-shooter incidents often occur in small- and
medium-sized communities where police departments are
limited by budget constraints and small workforces.
b) The average active-shooter incident lasts 12 minutes.
Thirty-seven percent last less than five minutes.
c) Overwhelmingly, the offender is a single shooter (98
percent), primarily male (97 percent). In 40 percent of the
instances, they kill themselves.
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d) Two percent of the shooters bring IEDs as an additional
weapon.
e) In 10 percent of the cases, the shooter stops and walks
away. In 20 percent of the cases, the shooter goes mobile,
moving to another location.
f) Forty-three percent of the time, the crime is over
before police arrive. In 57 percent of the shootings, an
officer arrives while the shooting is still underway.
g) The shooter often stops as soon as he hears or sees law
enforcement, sometimes turning his anger or aggression on
law enforcement.
h) Patrol officers are most likely responding alone or with
a partner. When responding alone, 75 percent had to take
action.
i) A third of those officers who enter the incident alone
are shot by the intruder. (Katherine W. Schweit, J.D.,
Addressing the Problem of the Active Shooter (May 7, 2013)
Federal Bureau of Investigation <
http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforceme
nt-bulletin/2013/May/active-shooter> [as of Mar. 4, 2014]
(internal citations omitted).)
3)LAX Airport Response Team : In the immediate aftermath of the
shooting incident at the Los Angeles International Airport
(LAX) that resulted in the death of a Transportation Security
Administration officer in November 2013, airport visitors and
passengers were forced to evacuate the terminal where the
shooting took place. Lack of communication and direction
after the event took place left the airport in gridlock and
left passengers stranded and confused. According to one news
account: "Evacuated passengers sat on street curbs for hours
in the sun. Traffic jams and several airport roadways that
were blocked by police restricted people's ability to move.
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Many camped out on lawns of hotels or waited in lobbies."
(Aguilar, LAX emergency response team will tend to passengers
in future emergencies, Southern California Public Radio (Dec.
31, 2013).) Partly in response to the November 2013 shooting,
LAX formed the Airport Response Team, the first formalized
employee team that the airport can deploy on the ground to
communicate with the public and offer care and information on
what to do and where to go during emergencies. (Ibid.)
4)Argument in Support : According to the California Professional
Firefighters , "Active shooter event scenarios are essential
training subjects for all firefighters, emergency medical and
law enforcement personnel. Similar to a hazardous material
first responder operations 'FRO' level of competency, every
first responder must be prepared for the possible response to
an active shooter event. ? CPF encourages close cooperation
among impacted agencies in the development of curriculum that
best provides necessary, standardized training, which will
help properly mitigate incidents and treat patients. For
these reasons, we urge your support [of] ACR 94."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Professional Firefighters
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Shaun Naidu / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744