Technology & Methodology. Changing Our Response To Mass Shooter Events

Transcription

1 Technology & Methodology Changing Our Response To Mass Shooter Events MARCH 2018 CARBYNE, INC.

2 Bathed in the light of her computer screen, the 911 Call Taker pressed her headphones against her ears and tried to make out what the man was saying. You re not in a house, you re in a club? she asked. Yes, he replied, his voice never rising above a whisper. What s the name of the club? Pulse he said. 1 Cowering in the back room, the unidentified man was desperately trying to avoid being heard by the shooter in the dance club. Dozens of bodies were strewed on the floor, dead and injured alike, as the police tried to negotiate with the man who had targeted the nightclub popular with Orlando s gay community. While crisis response negotiators tried to end the violence, the shooter continued to kill as many club patrons as possible. The Pulse Nightclub shooting in June of 2016 would shock America, and the world, and lead to an anger within the LGBTQ community. Perhaps since the Columbine high school shootings in 1999, but probably even before, mass shootings have become more and more a part of the fabric of American life, with innumerable mass shootings and active shooter events with casualties numbering in the thousands. 2 While both sides of the gun debate dispute the cause of, and solution to, these mass shootings, the fact remains that they are increasingly becoming a part of life in the United States. Outside Pulse Nightclub. Credit: CBS News This white paper will aim to explore the different avenues that cities and citizens can take, beyond the gun debate, in order to reduce the carnage during and in the immediate aftermath of an active shooter event. The mere definition of a mass shooting in the United States remains in flux. Since 2008, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has maintained that a mass shooting is an event in which 3 or more people are killed. 3 However, this definition has been criticized due to the fact that a shooting may injure multiple people but contain no fatalities. 4 Whatever the definition, cities and towns are increasingly preparing for the event that their peace and quiet may soon be shattered. There are multiple theories on how to prevent mass shootings. Many of these involve identifying underlying symptoms and different aspects of human behavior. The truth is that when the bullets start flying, these theories are put to a stark reality check. 2

3 LEARNING LESSONS FROM TRAGEDY When the smoke cleared after the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, 32 students were dead and 23 wounded. However, from that deadly massacre we were able to learn a great deal about how to survive a mass shooting. Three rooms of the Virginia Tech campus, Rooms 204, 205, and 206, are of particular interest when examining responses to a gunman. Each of these rooms tried a different tactic when dealing with the shooter. In Room 206, students hid under their desks and utilized the long-publicized duck and cover method. The gunman was easily able to gain entry to the room and kill ten students as he walked up and down the row of desks. In Room 204, two students were killed while several others jumped out the windows and escaped. However, in Room 205, they barricaded the door with desks and objects and laid low. The gunman fired twice at the door, attempting to gain entry by destroying the lock, but found himself unable to break through the barricade. Every student in Room 205 survived. 5 What we learnt from the Virginia Tech shooting was the most effective response to deter a mass shooter, save lives, or even neutralize the gunman. For those who find themselves in the midst of an active shooter situation, the US government advises three potential options to saving oneself: Run Hide Fight 6 The Roanoke Times front page. Credit: The Roanoke Times. Running evacuating the area as quickly as possible is the preferred option. It gives you the greatest chance of survival and allows one to warn others to not enter the building. Hiding, barricading yourself indoors and staying low on the floor, is an option if escaping is not possible or practical. Finally, fighting the attacker is possible as a last resort. The FBI, in their active shooter training video, advises you to attack in groups with improvised weaponry (or actual weaponry such as kitchen knives) and to ensure that everyone is committed to the plan. 7 HOW LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONDS TO ACTIVE SHOOTERS The police response to active shooters has changed over the years. Prior to the Columbine Massacre at the Colorado high school, the tactic for active shooter situations was to cordon off the area, try to assist civilians in escaping, and wait for S.W.A.T teams to arrive and neutralize the shooter. However, the 1999 Columbine shooting led law enforcement to reevaluate their approach to active shooter scenarios. From 2000 onwards, many police officers were trained to rush into an active shooter situation as soon as they arrive on the scene. The reason for this shift lies in the fact that during Columbine, the shooters simply continued their massacre as police were outside waiting for S.W.A.T to arrive and enter the high school, increasing the number of casualties. 3

4 The revised tactics, which emphasize individual police officers engaging and attempting to neutralize gunmen from the moment they arrive, have helped reduce the casualties in active shooter scenarios. 8 For armed first responders, they are often relayed what little is known by the dispatcher and are forced to rely on rudimentary intelligence gathering as soon as they arrive on scene. For instance, a responding officer is told by a 911 Call Taker that there is an active shooter situation, and upon arrival is simply meant to listen for a series of gunshots or screams in order to locate the perpetrator. 9 Upon entering the scene, they are then meant to search room by room, ignoring casualties along the way, and eliminate whatever threat remains. The new rules of engagement have supporters and critics. While advocates tout the fact that even a momentary delay can lead to significant increases in casualty rates, critics point to examples of police officers arriving on the scene prepared for the worst. In the case of John Crawford of Beavercreek, Ohio, police officers were told that Crawford was a mass shooter and waving (his gun) back and forth. 10 The moment that police arrived on scene, they followed their rules of engagement and entered the store with their weapons drawn. Upon seeing Crawford, they immediately open-fired and neutralized the apparent threat. However, John Crawford was not an immediate threat. The weapon, an air rifle, had been grabbed within the store but the person who called 911 was under the impression that Crawford represented a danger and the Call Taker relayed that fear to the police. The responding officers had, less than a fortnight before, sat through a PowerPoint on mass shooters and the proper response. Neither officer was indicted in the shooting, however many believe that the lack of uniform rules of engagement for mass shooting events across the United States ensures that tragic missteps will continue to occur. 11 DURING THE ACTIVE SHOOTING Every person reacts differently to the sights and sounds of gunshots. When confronted with a gunshot, the brain will often flood itself with a range of chemicals that manipulate the perception of time and distance, engage the Flight and Fight survival instinct, and fail to adequately process new information. 12 Isaac Ashkenazi, Professor of Disaster Medicine and the former Director of the Urban Terror Preparedness Project at Harvard University, points to the evolution of the lowermost zone of the human brain, known as the hindbrain, which is common with other mammals, birds, and reptiles. It is here that involuntary functions such as breathing and heartbeat are regulated, and where one can find our protective survival instincts. Within the center of the brain is the amygdala, triggered when the survival mechanisms kick in after perceiving a threat, and the source of the protective Triple F of freeze, flight, or fight. Professor Ashkenazi refers to the Triple F reaction as going to the basement, 13 in reference to the fact that it is the lowermost part of the brain and separate from the amygdala. The deeply embedded stimulus response is an action dating back to our earliest ancestors when it saved them from threatening predators one loses one s cognitive control while the brain focuses only on survival. Professor Ashkenazi notes that freeze, flight, or fight is a misnomer. In reality, the sequence is of freeze, flight, and fight. For Ashkenazi, who has spent a lifetime studying the human response to disasters and shootings, the act of going to the basement is a perfectly natural reaction to a traumatic experience. Traversing the survival sequence, including the descent and ascent from the basement, depends upon the situation, your training and your experience and can last anywhere from a few seconds to a few days. 14 4

5 Joseph LeDeoux, Professor at the Emotional Brain Institute at New York University, has also criticized the run, hide, fight mantra that has been promoted by the FBI. In his article in the New York Times, LeDeoux gave the example of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic bombing where CCTV footage showed people around the bomb freezing for several critical seconds before some began to flee while others remained frozen in a state of shock. When confronted with a mass shooter, LeDeoux confirmed, many people would be frozen in their tracks. 15 Once a person cornered in a mass-shooting has unfrozen, running or hiding is their best option. It is once they have reached safety that many would then contact 911 and report the mass shooter incident to emergency services. For first responders, these calls are the best opportunity to glean information about what s happening on the ground. However, many of those who are calling 911 are often still in a state of shock, cannot recall key details, or unintentionally provide Call Takers with misinformation. The brain abhors a vacuum, says Scott Fraser, a forensic psychologist in witness behavior. Witnesses often absorb bits and pieces of a particular event and so when asked to recall an event, the human mind will unconsciously piece together a fuller, more coherent narrative of what occurred. 16 Many of those who are calling 911 are often still in a state of shock, cannot recall key details, or unintentionally provide Call Takers with misinformation. What this vacuum means is that when witnesses do call 911, they often provide incomplete or incorrect information. In some cases, their brains can process an event differently than others. For instance, in the San Bernadino shooting in 2015, multiple witnesses stated that they saw three men with long rifles shooting and exiting in a black SUV. These reports conflicted with forensic evidence that there were only two perpetrators, and it was determined that a third individual who was stopped by police had simply been running from the danger of the two terrorists. 17 The danger of conflicted and incorrect eyewitness accounts is that they are often the first pieces of intelligence that armed emergency responders receive before entering an active shooter situation. For a police officer arriving on scene, their understanding of the perpetrator is implicitly biased based on the information that the Call Taker has provided them. For armed response and S.W.A.T units, the danger also lies in locating civilians and determining the difference between a shooter and a victim. In the haze and confusion of an active shooter situation or a hostage taking, the death of an innocent victim is a real possibility. For S.W.A.T commanders, determining the location of hostages or shooting victims before going in to an active scene could easily be the key piece of information that can save lives. 5

6 HOW WE CAN CHANGE To reduce the number of deaths during a mass shooter event, it is necessary to approach the problem from all its different aspects. With an infusion of technology, a reevaluation of tactics, and a paradigm shift in thinking regarding civilians, we can help reduce casualties in mass shooter events. Michael Jones, Professor of Criminal Justice at Virginia Commonwealth University and a former Police Chief, says that we have now reached a point technologically where we can attempt to minimize the casualty count in mass shootings. As soon as a mass event begins, the first moments are critical in informing emergency services what s going on, said Jones. Through technology such as streaming video or gunshot identification, we can significantly reduce the time it takes for first responders to be informed about and understand the implications of a mass shooting event. 18 One of the most important aspects of a mass shooting is providing critical intelligence to First Responders on their way to an event. Identifying the location, the gunman, or the weapons that they use can drastically increase their ability to neutralize hostile actors on site. ShotSpotter, a real-time gunshot detection and location alert system, reduces response time by utilizing acoustic sensors that are strategically placed within city limits. When a shot is fired, the sensors are able to pick up and transmit the sound to ShotSpotter s Incident Review Center. Within 45 seconds, ShotSpotter is able to determine if a weapon has been fired, if it is an automatic or a semi-automatic weapon, the number of shots fired, the location of the incident, and if there are injuries. It then forwards all of this information to the local 911 Center and mobile first responders. According to Sherry Prescott, Director of Marketing for ShotSpotter, the critical information that ShotSpotter provides helps drastically reduce the time to dispatch. Many shooting incidents go unreported to a 911 Center. With ShotSpotter, gunfire incidents are alerted with the precise location so if someone does get injured, the chances of an officer arriving faster and finding an injured victim can be possible with a ShotSpotter alert. 19 SIGHT AND SOUND For First Responders, access to live streaming video will help in crucial aspects of intelligence gathering prior to arriving on scene. Jones refers to streaming video as a real time witness as it can provide S.W.A.T with key details and irrefutable evidence of what the shooter is wearing, their physical description, and even what sort of weapons they may be using. Danny Coulson, a former member of the FBI s elite Hostage Rescue Team, explains the benefit of streaming video directly to First Responders. Active shooter situations are not a stand-off, it s a shoot-out. To be able to stream out where you are, what the doors look like, as well as giving a description (of the shooter), it s very helpful. If I were the commanding officer of a situation then I would like to know what was happening inside. 20 For law enforcement professionals who have spent their lives understanding and responding to mass shootings, the thought of someone recording one with their smartphone may seem absurd. However, streaming video in mass shootings is becoming an increasingly common phenomenon in the age of social media. 6

7 During the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas school shootings in Parkland, Florida in February 2018, at least half a dozen students live-streamed their experience cowering from the gunman and waiting for police rescue. The result is graphic video of screams, gunshots, and children fearful for their lives. David Hogg, one of the students who live-streamed the experience, said that he reached for his smartphone because he needed to record his terror. Once we were all in the room and started seeing the headlines we realized this was anything but a drill, this was life or death, that is when I started recording. I realized if I died and everyone around me died, I wanted our voices to be heard. 21 Videos posted to social media during the Parkland school shooting. Credit: YouTube, Washington Post. Every significant social media platform now caters to video, from Instagram and Facebook s stories feature to Snapchat s ability to broadcast video clips. Digital natives, like the Parkland survivors, increasingly express their thoughts, fears, frustrations and hopes directly to their hundreds or thousands of followers. These videos are often picked up by the mainstream media and amplify their footage to tens of millions. For this generation of social media savvy students, many are willing and able to video a shooting, stabbing, or mass event. All 911 has to do is install the infrastructure to receive it, and that critical footage can be used to save lives rather than document them. While the technology may be easy to implement, the actual act of recording footage of an active shooter could be quite difficult. Anyone finding themselves in the midst of an active shooter situation should, as suggested, try to evacuate the scene as quickly as possible before contacting emergency services. However, for those who may be unable escape and can contact 911, it should be done with the utmost caution to minimize harm. If attempting to record the perpetrator, it should be done while keeping their physical presence as minimal as possible. In the wake of the Parkland school shooting, it was discovered that CCTV footage of the school, which first responders were using to track the gunman as he made his way throughout campus grounds, was delayed by 20 minutes. Police spent critical moments searching for the killer on school grounds despite the fact that he had already left the scene in the confusion of the fleeing students. 22 The benefit of live-video streaming technology is the instantaneous nature of it. Using smartphones and connected cameras, it is possible to track a perpetrator from the moment that they begin to open-fire to the conclusion of the event. Weapon detection and identification across images and video is still in its infancy but is an exciting concept for the future as the technology matures. 23 Being able to scan and identify weapons from 7

8 video could potentially stop a mass shooting before it even happens. BriefCam, an Israeli-based video analytics company, uses artificial intelligence and state-of-the-art algorithms to search, tag, filter, and detect elements within CCTV and other video. BriefCam s technology scrutinizes video and identifies specific elements and actions within it to rapidly search through hours of tape in a few minutes. 24 BriefCam s deep learning algorithms can identify and distinguish between genders, colors, direction, objects, and other elements within the video. Tagging each of these individual elements, while cataloging them for searching, allows them to be distinguished against a database and alert emergency services should they identify a weapon. Bringing the 21st century of With video-streaming direct to digital video, as well as new analytical tools, can allow 911 Call Takers, active bystanders first responders a unique look are able to perform crucial inside the scene of an active shooter scenario. functions that could save lives. Carbyne, an end-to-end ecosystem that brings streaming video and location to 911, uses the intelligent sensors and video camera within smartphones to provide First Responders with an accurate depiction of the scene of a mass shooting. When making a standard phone call to a 911 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) that has had their legacy equipment enhanced with Carbyne s ecosystem, the call automatically provides streaming video as well as the real-time precise location of the event. Call Takers are then able to identify exactly where the call is being made, what the potential situation is, whether or not there are any wounded, and what sort of response is required. For those in a mass shooter scenario, where speaking could potentially lead to their discovery, Carbyne includes a text-to-911 feature that allows for discreet texting to Call Takers. Former Hostage Rescue Team agent Danny Coulson used the Mumbai attacks of 2008 as an example of how advanced location could be advantageous to responding forces. 25 In 2008, 12 members of the Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group carried out a series of coordinated attacks over a three-day period in Mumbai, India. The Taj Hotel, one of the primary attack sites, quickly became the site of a hostage situation with more than 200 captives stuck in the hotel in various rooms across several floors. The responding military commandos were forced to conduct a room-by-room search of the entire hotel with no intelligence on the location of hostages or terrorists. Had hostages been equipped with smartphones that gave an exact indoor location, Indian authorities would have been able to respond to specific rooms first and foremost where they were aware hostages were being held. 26 The advantage of video-streaming direct to 911 extends beyond identification of suspects and weaponry to initiation of life-saving first aid prior to the arrival of medical staff. Professor Isaac Ashkenazi believes that a paradigm shift in the role of bystanders will help save countless lives in the midst of a mass shooting or terror event. There will always be a delay in emergency services arriving on the scene, says Ashkenazi. After the initial shock of explosions (or gunshots), cooperation among survivors is reported along with acts of heroism. Professor Ashkenazi believes that by combining video-streaming technology along with willing bystanders, you are left with a core group of people who are united by time, space, and context. 27 8

9 Active Bystanders, Ashkenazi s term, are bystanders who are deputized by first responders before medical help has arrived at the scene. With video-streaming direct to 911 Call Takers, active bystanders are able to perform crucial functions, such as basic first aid, that could save lives. In real-world scenarios, active bystanders using Carbyne technology have been able to perform CPR and rudimentary treatments such as elevation of limbs and pressurizing wounds. 28 Video-streaming direct to emergency and medical services gives Call Takers the ability to advise, assess, and critique treatment by active bystanders as well as keep first responders updated on a patient s status while they are making their way to the scene. By allowing active bystanders to perform chest compressions or basic first aid, something that many passive bystanders would refuse due to a lack of training, confidence, or fear of liability, crucial moments are being utilized that could otherwise lead to a victim bleeding out. CONCLUSION As political and social organizations debate the merits of finding a balance between gun control legislation and constitutional freedoms, cities and police agencies are forced to act now to stem the rising number of casualties from mass shootings. Video-streaming, and other technologies, aid in the identification and neutralization of a mass shooter, while giving Call Takers an assistant on the ground, able to help perform potentially life-saving medical procedures until professionals can arrive. Enhancing a 911 Call Taker center with video-streaming or acoustic technology will bring untold benefits to how first responders assess and arrive at the scene of the crime. Technology can only solve a small part of the quagmire that is mass shooters because it must be paired with radical shifts in thinking and the role that civilians can play in disaster response. As each mass shooting ends, we evaluate and understand the failures that may have led up to it and, from there, try to minimize casualties moving forward. The mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida occurred during the writing of this white paper and, as mentioned, many of these students took the opportunity to record the horror on their smartphones and broadcast it to the world. Had the video streamed live, directly to 911, we do not know how the outcome may have changed. 17 students lost their lives that day and we can only hope that, as their fellow classmates have promised, this will be the last school shooting. AUTHORS: BENJAMIN GOLD EYAL ELYASHIV AMIR ELICHAI 9

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