0300 hours. On a Saturday night in July. You have one partner in dispatch and two units on duty for the whole county. An otherwise q-word night turns into a subject armed with a shotgun firing all along your downtown area, eventually stopping in front of your windows. You go from hearing the shots through the radio to hearing the shots right outside. "He ducked into the dispatch parking lot" comes through your headset, and you start praying that the back door with the faulty lock has been fixed. This is nothing like the active shooter scenario you trained for.
Learning Objectives:
Reevaluate what you think you know about active shooter situations and how you would handle being on lockdown, especially if you had to make that call.
Identify ways you can overcome roadblocks to the challenges you face under the headset, and learn how to be more adaptable on the fly.
Gain understanding of why being aware of the mental health of yourself, your partners, and your units is an essential part of your long-term well being, and will hopefully be able to identify and implement your own strategies for stress mitigation in a variety of settings and circumstances.
