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It’s the call no officer ever wants to hear: an active shooter. While civilians and potential victims are trying to escape this terrifying event, your job is to run toward the danger and stop the shooter before the situation gets worse. You’ve trained in active shooter protocol, but do you have the equipment you need to take on the challenge you are about to face?
In most active shooter situations, patrol units – often a lone officer who received the initial call – are first on the scene, with SWAT or tactical team following fast as the situation unfolds.
Aside from personal courage and mental toughness, what hardware do you need to have in your patrol vehicle to respond at a moment’s notice to this horrific event if you’re the first one there? Three key items can mean the difference between life and death for both you and any potential victims.
When you roll up on the scene, you might not know if the shooter is still on the loose. In fact, you’ve probably been trained to respond as if the shooter is still active until you determine otherwise. You have to assume you’re walking into a volatile scene and the shooter is still looking for victims. If you get into a shootout, will your concealed soft armor be enough?
Soft armor is only designed to stop handgun rounds. However, many active shooters choose rifles over handguns because they are higher powered. Your soft armor is not rated to stop rifle rounds, leaving you vulnerable. Do you have hard plate armor at the ready? Keeping a throw-on tactical vest such as a Critical Response Kit in the trunk gives you an in-conjunction-with (ICW) or Level IV stand-alone option that adds the extra penetration protection layer in front and back needed to stop higher velocity rifle rounds. While hard armor is heavier than soft, you’ll only have it on for a short while until the shooter is neutralized and the incident is over.
Chances are you’ll grab your AR-15 or shotgun as you enter the scene. Whatever your magazine capacity, you’ll probably want to bring spare mags and ammunition, just in case. To keep extra rounds at the ready, consider a bailout bag that holds extra magazines on the outside for quick access. If you need to reload, it will likely be in the heat of battle, when you’re running on adrenaline and relying on your training. There won’t be much time for extra thinking or maneuvering. Therefore, mag pouches need to be on the outside so you can grab the extra mags without fumbling to unzip and dig through the bag.
Inside the bag, stash medical essentials such as a trauma kit, quick clot, extra bandages, and tourniquets. And don’t forget latex gloves and a CPR mask. Chances are you’ll need to assist wounded victims until EMS arrives, which means you’ll need the tools to perform first aid and stop bleeding bullet wounds.
Organization is key here. You don’t want to waste valuable time rummaging for much needed medical supplies while a victim bleeds out on the floor next to you.
Your bailout bag should have partitions and pouches that you can customize for the way you want to set up your emergency gear.
At least one Orlando, FL police officer is very glad he was wearing a ballistic helmet in the early moments of the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016. The unidentified officer was shot in the front of his helmet, just inches above his exposed forehead and lived to tell the story. While ballistic helmets are only rated to IIIA, in this case it over-performed and stopped a .223 round.
Ballistic helmets serve two purposes: ballistic protection and protection from hitting your head on overhead objects and falling debris. Traditionally reserved for SWAT and other tactical operations teams, more and more departments are issuing helmets to patrol officers for this very reason.
While even the best gear doesn’t guarantee you’ll stop every active shooter before it’s too late, having what you need handy could help keep you and your fellow officers safe and prevent further loss of life.