The Lakewood Church Incident

Important facility and body worn camera video to share with your team leaders (patrol and special teams). Afterwords, engaging them in critical dialogue – collective inquiry and communication - over what they observed and what the below observations mean to them. Every incident is an opportunity to learn and grow, what they contribute to the conversation can help improve future public safety response to active incidents like these. ?

Off-duty Work Considerations

• Know the address of the extra-duty job that you are working
• On arrival, advise dispatch of your location, hours on site and provide your cell phone number
• Know why you are there - to protect the community
• Avoid the distraction of your phone and social media
• There is no such thing as an easy off-duty, keep your head on a swivel and wear your body armor and have your necessary tools
• You took on the job, so assure that you are rested and ready to fulfill your duty

MINDSET

• It is too late to try to get it once the shooting has started
• Don't be in Condition White that is, unprepared and unready to take action, watching videos on your phone, etc.?
• Decisively act and Push to contact - the only way to stop the threat.
• "What if" mindset training, prepping for carnage and tragic scenes of death including child fatalities; being shot at, the smell of gun powder, etc., has to occur before the incident happens.? Failure to do so will contribute to your breakdown into Condition Black

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Communicate

• With Officers - (on scene and responding) on how many suspects you have/see, what they are wearing; and also, while moving to contact -cover me, moving, on your right, flank him, etc.
• With Citizens – how many suspects did they see, where were they last seen, provide them with directions for assistance where necessary, for evacuation, for sheltering in place, etc.
• With Dispatch – Provide your exact location when making entry and moving in to contact inside of the facility. ?Example:? I am making entry on side 1 which is the Southside front doors of the facility, we have gun shots coming from the second floor and are moving to contact via the main stairwell; I am on the second floor and in contact with the suspect on the east side of the facility...?

Tactics

• Tag your it, address the threat even if you are solo
• Decisively Act, Move to contact, and Stop the Threat
• Effectively use cover and concealment and know the difference between both
• Cover and Move?
• Apply two-man/team tactics
• Use angles to your advantage
• Be fluid and apply all of your training
• If available deploy your patrol rifle and or shotgun?

YOU CAN DO THIS - YOU ARE READY FOR THIS - YOU HAVE TRAINED FOR THIS!

Incident Command

• Tag your it - notify and identify yourself as the incident commander
• Establish an Incident Command Post (ICP)
• Establish a Staging Area – not the same location as the ICP
• Identify Safe routes
• Identify the need for tactical armored vehicles
• Identify the need for special teams
• Identify your Red and Green zones
• Identify witnesses
• Identify a Reunification Center
• Communicate with supporting agencies – are they needed or not needed – make it clear, and identify areas of responsibility and missions for them to assist you with.
• Communicate that you have a mass casualty incident (MCI) and prep hospitals for incoming casualties

Off-Duty Tactics

• Carry your handgun
• Where possible and in addition to your cell phone, carry your radio where possible (a force multiplier in the chaos of everyone trying to call 911)
• Carry you badge and or an LEO identifier
• Carry at least one TQ
• Carry your hand cuffs or other restraint device
• Have a family plan for these types of incidents - I need you to evac and rally at our car, I need you to call 911 and advise that I am moving to contact and am wearing xxx, etc.

Stay ready and the one that brings the others back!

About the author: Lawrence Lujan is a Commander with 34 years of service and is also a graduate of the?FBI National Academy - session 274. His operational and instructional experience is focused on individual and special team tactics (leadership, officer safety, patrol field tactics, active shooter response, mobile field force, firearms, gang enforcement and SWAT). He has taught internationally in South Korea, El Salvador, and Canada with operational experience in Honduras, Canada, Panama and Colombia. Lawrence Lujan brings a unique and sought-after skill set to the law enforcement arena.