It may seem onerous to prepare yourself and your family to respond to violence, but not doing so is also a form of preparation. Failing to prepare is, generally speaking, preparing very well to do the wrong thing. Although most of us are good at recognizing danger, our instincts often lead us to behave in ways that increase our chances of being injured or killed once a threat emerges.

After an OIS:

 

• What 12 questions should an officer answer at the scene?
• Besides wound treatment, what critical benefits does he or she gain from prompt transport to a medical facility?
• What does an agency gain by encouraging an officer to have independent legal counsel before a detailed statement is taken?
• What question do cops most want answered when the smoke clears?

 

These are just a few of the procedural issues addressed late last month at the annual IACP conference in Chicago during a fast-paced, 2-hour presentation called “Chief, I’ve Been in a Shooting: What Happens Next?”

Librarians will remind you, of course, that a library is much more than a book repository. It’s an information center (free and open information, I should add). It’s an educational center. It’s a digital access center. It’s a community center. It’s fairly clear when you describe the library like this that none of these roles are going away (nor should they), no matter what format our reading habits may move to.