GENERAL ORDERS LINCOLN POLICE DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: PATROL OPERATIONS
TITLE: ACTIVE SHOOTER/THREAT RAPID RESPONSE
EFFECTIVE DATE: JUNE 1, 2025
REVISION DATE:
ACCREDITATION: ALABAMA ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE (AACOP)
APPROVAL: CHIEF DARREN E. BRITTON
ACTIVE SHOOTER/THREAT RAPID RESPONSE
413.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE
Violence that is committed in schools, workplaces, and other locations by individuals or a group of individuals who are determined to target and kill persons and to create mass casualties presents a difficult situation for law enforcement. The purpose of this policy is to identify guidelines and factors that will assist officers in situations that call for rapid response and deployment. The term "Active Shooter(s)/Assailant(s)" that is used throughout this policy, applies to all situations where there is an ongoing deadly threat, including, but not limited to, those from firearms, vehicles, explosives, knives, etc.
413.2 DEFINITIONS
ACTIVE SHOOTING - An incident in which one or more armed persons have used, or are reasonably likely to use, deadly force in an ongoing manner and where persons have been injured, killed, or are under imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm by such persons.
BARRICADE SUSPECT - A criminal suspect who has taken a position in a physical location, most often a structure or vehicle, fortified or not, that does not allow immediate police access and is refusing police orders to exit. A barricaded suspect may be known to be armed, thought to be armed, have access to weapons in the location, or be in an unknown weapons status.
CASUALTY COLLECTION POINT (CCP) - A forward location where victims can be assembled for movement from areas of risk. Based upon incident dynamics, such as the number and location of victims, multiple CCPs may be required.
CONTACT OFFICER OR TEAM - Is comprised of the first officer(s) at the scene of an active shooting and is tasked with locating the suspect(s) and stopping the threat.
IMMEDIATE ACTION - Rapid response by one or more officers to an active shooting based on a reasonable belief that failure to swiftly seek out and address the threat would result in death or serious bodily injury.
INCIDENT COMMANDER - is the person responsible for all aspects of an emergency response; including quickly developing incident objectives, managing all incident operations, application of resources as well as responsibility for all persons involved
RESCUE TEAM - A team that may consist of fire and/or emergency medical services (EMS) personnel paired with law enforcement officers. Fire/EMS personnel are tasked with initial treatment and triage of victims in the warm zone. Law enforcement officers are assigned as protection for this team and should not separate from the fire/EMS personnel.
WARM ZONE - A geographic area where law enforcement has either cleared or isolated the threat to a level of minimal or mitigated risk; can be considered clear but not secure.
413.3 POLICY
The Lincoln Police Department will endeavor to plan for rapid response to crisis situations and to coordinate response planning with other emergency services as well as with those who are responsible for operating sites that may be the target of a critical incident.
Lincoln Police Department officers are authorized to use lethal force in self-defense or to defend others. Lethal force is authorized when it is evident that the officers or those they are protecting will suffer death or extreme bodily injury due to a suspect's hostile actions.
Officers responding to an Active Shooter(s)/Assailant(s) incident shall immediately find the Active Shooter(s)/Assailant(s) and terminate their hostile actions.
Nothing in this policy shall preclude the use of reasonable force, deadly or otherwise, by members of the Department in protecting themselves or others from death or serious injury.
In an Active Shooter(s)/Assailant(s) situation, the prioritization of activities in order of importance are:
1. Stop, Delay, or Hinder the Active Shooter(s)/Assailant(s) from Further Hostile Actions.
2. Contain and Isolate the Situation.
3. Initiate Command and Control of The Situation.
4. Rescue the Victims.
5. Provide medical assistance
6. Protect the crime scene.
Note: While it is important to provide aid to the wounded and dying, it is our public safety duty to first protect lives by stopping the homicidal actions of the Active Shooter(s)/Assailant(s).
413.4 CONSIDERATIONS
When dealing with a crisis situation, members should:
(a) Attempt to attain a tactical advantage over the suspect(s) by eliminating, reducing, or preventing any known or perceived threat(s).
(b) Assess the immediate situation and take reasonable steps to maintain operative control of the incident.
(c) Obtain, explore and analyze sources of intelligence and known information regarding the circumstances, location, and suspect(s) involved in the incident.
(d) Attempt, when feasible and based upon the suspect's actions and danger to others, a negotiated surrender of the suspect(s) and release of the hostages.
413.5 FIRST RESPONDING OFFICER(S)
If there is a reasonable belief that acts or threats by a suspect are placing lives in imminent danger, first responding officers (Contact Officer) should consider reasonable options to eliminate, reduce, or prevent the threat.
If a suspect is actively engaged in the infliction of serious bodily harm or other life-threatening activity toward others, OFFICER(S) SHALL TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION, while requesting additional assistance.
In the case of a barricaded or trapped suspect(s), with no hostages and no immediate threat to others, officers should consider covering escape routes and evacuating persons as appropriate, while summoning and waiting for additional assistance (e.g., Emergency Services Unit and/or Crisis Negotiations Team response).
The first Officer/Supervisor on the scene, that is not the initial contact officer(s), shall become the Incident Commander until relieved.
413.6 PLANNING
The Chief of Police or his or her designee should coordinate critical incident planning. Planning efforts should consider:
(a) Identification of likely critical incident target sites, such as schools, shopping centers, entertainment venues and sporting event venues.
(b) Availability of building plans and venue schematics of likely critical incident target sites.
(c) Communications interoperability with other law enforcement and emergency service agencies.
(d) Training opportunities in critical incident target sites, including joint training with site occupants.
(e) Evacuation routes in critical incident target sites.
(f) Patrol first-response training.
(g) Response coordination and resources of emergency medical and fire services.
(h) Equipment needs.
(i) Mutual aid agreements with other agencies.
(j) Coordination with private security providers in critical incident target sites.
413.7 TRAINING
The Training Coordinator should include Active Shooter(s)/Assailant(s) rapid response to critical incidents in the training plan. This training should address:
(a) Orientation to likely critical incident target sites, such as schools, shopping centers, entertainment venues, and sporting event venues.
(b) Communications interoperability with other law enforcement and emergency service agencies.
(c) Patrol first-response training, including patrol rifle, shotgun, breaching tool, and control device training.
(d) First aid, including gunshot trauma.
(e) Reality-based scenario training (e.g., active shooter, disgruntled violent worker).
413.8 PROCEDURAL
413.8.1 CONTACT OFFICER(S) RESPONSE
The mission of the contact officer(s) is to locate and stop the threat. Even if the threat seemingly has been terminated, contact officer(s) is/are required to render the location safe, assist in screening and the orderly evacuation of persons to a designated area, and locating any other persons still in hiding.
The contact officer or team shall be provided a clear communications channel to supply the following types of information:
a. The officer or team's progress and location.
b. The estimated number of suspects involved.
c. The suspect's description and weapons if known.
d. The location of any booby traps or explosives. If discovered, the contact officer or team leader shall determine whether to report it or mark it for later removal.
e. The location and number of victims and their medical needs.
The contact officer or team shall locate the suspect(s) in the most expeditious manner possible in order to stop the threat. In doing so, officers should not stop to render aid or assistance to victims, but may, where reasonably possible, inform them that RTs are forthcoming and direct them to a safe point of egress or hiding if they are ambulatory and it is deemed safe for them to do so.
The contact officer or team should employ tactical advantages such as avoiding the use of the main entrance, if possible, to provide an element of surprise and to bypass potential booby traps or ambush.
The contact officer or team should not attempt to conduct a thorough clearing of the location, but should follow sounds, such as gunfire, yelling, and screaming; observations of victims and bystanders; and related information to help locate the suspect(s) as soon as possible.
Once the location of the suspect(s) is known, and any immediate threat is eliminated, the contact officer or team should proceed to clear all portions of the location in the event that more suspects are in hiding. If victims are encountered who require immediate trauma care, the contact officer or team shall provide such care prior to continuing to clear the location. Arriving tactical or other officers should be called upon to help clear the location of potential suspects, locate and evacuate persons in hiding, and render safe any dangerous munitions or armament.
The contact officer or team shall switch its focus to providing trauma care as necessary when the primary mission is completed.
413.8.2 RESCUE TEAM(s) (RT(s))
Once the contact officer or team is deployed, and as officers and resources arrive at the incident scene, the IC should ensure that RTs are formed to provide trauma care and help evacuate victims.
RT(s) shall be organized under a team leader, deploy in tactical formations consistent with agency training, and be prepared to respond to hostile action as rapidly changing circumstances may place them in contact with suspects. In such instances, the RT shall be prepared and equipped to serve as the contact team.
RT(s) shall be deployed only after the contact officer or team has made entry, provided a status report, notified the command post of the location of victims, established warm zones, and determined that rescue efforts may begin.
Wounded and injured persons shall be quickly searched, if reasonable, for weapons, quickly treated for obvious life-threatening injuries, and removed to the designated CCPs with cover and movement of such persons provided by RT members. If emergency medical personnel are not yet in place, basic trauma care shall be the responsibility of RT members until they are relieved by medical personnel.
Rescue and recovery operations shall continue until the IC has declared the scene clear and safe.
413.8.3 UNIFIED COMMAND
A Unified incident command shall be established as soon as possible.
The IC shall ensure that the following actions are accomplished:
a. Organize and establish unified interagency communication(s).
b. Establish an inner perimeter to control access to and egress from the area of risk.
c. Establish an outer perimeter.
d. Establish staging areas in the cold zone for the following purposes and notify communications of their locations:
(1) for responding officers and other emergency personnel (An officer should be assigned to this staging area to brief arriving personnel, maintain communication with the contact officer or team, and assign duties as directed by the IC.);
(2) for treatment of the injured and evacuation by EMS or medevac (CCP);
(3) where individuals without injuries should be directed for identification and debriefing (evacuation area);
(4) to accommodate arriving family members of persons at the incident scene (notification center); and
(5) for the media. (This area should be staffed with appropriate personnel, such as public information officers.)
e. Ensure that officers assigned to the notification center maintain custody and control of all persons and document their identities until they can be reunited with family or others. Victims and witnesses suffering from emotional and/or physical trauma or shock should be kept under the observation of medical personnel until such time as they may be safely transported to a hospital or home in the care of family or friends.
f. Request mutual aid if necessary.
g. Establish traffic control and management for the ingress and egress of public safety vehicles. Special consideration should be given to maintaining open routes for rapid transport of the injured.
h. Contact appropriate aviation resources to control air space for possible medical evacuation resources and to establish restricted air space for law enforcement use only.
i. Request emergency medical assistance.
j. Initiate intelligence gathering on possible suspects.
k. Summon chaplains and peer support officers to provide information to relatives of victims.
l. Coordinate with owners or officials of the target location for floor plans; site layout; and a roster, including emergency contact information as available, of employees, students, residents, visitors, or others believed to be on-site.
m. Assign a recorder to document actions at the command post.
When available on the scene, a tactical team may be assigned as appropriate to
a. contain the location,
b. assist RTFs,
c. help locate the suspect(s) or relieve the contact officer or team,
d. help locate and safeguard explosives pending removal, ande. provide special weapons and equipment as needed.
Additional officers shall be deployed to control access to the location and monitor the perimeter.
These policies and operating procedures are not designed to cover every possible scenario or situation in society, but rather to define standard operating procedures for members of the Lincoln Police Department. These guidelines are subject to past, present and future judicial review. These guidelines can be amended and or repealed by the Chief of Police as necessary. The policies and procedures herein provided supersede all previous policies and orders.