34461269.pdf

\n\n--- Page 1 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDER TITLE ACCREDITATION Hostage/Barricaded Subjects CALEA 46.2.1 (a-e) PRIOR REVISIONS PROPONENT UNIT 11/27/06; Patrol Support Bureau ATTACHMENT: None NUMBER ISSUE DATE REVISION DATE TOTAL PAGES 46.5 07/01/1998 11/27/2019 6 I. PURPOSE: This Order establishes procedures for situations involving hostage and barricaded subjects. II. POLICY: The Gainesville Police Department shall contain and control high-risk incidents involving hostage or barricaded subject, deploying special operations personnel to minimize the danger to the public, suspects, and Department members. III. PROCEDURE: The following procedures may not necessarily follow the listed progression. Communication between parties may direct actions sooner or later than the order in which the actions are listed. A. Responsibility: [CALEA 46.2.1.a] 1. First Officer on Scene: The first officer on scene shall: i. Assess and verify the situation and secure the area; ii. Provide a situation report to the responding supervisor; iii. Request sufficient back-up to include establishing a perimeter as units respond; iv. Order bystanders and those obviously in danger out of the area; v. Request emergency medical and rescue personnel, if indicated; vi. Confine the suspect to the immediate area and avoid confrontation, if possible, until the arrival of specialty units;\n\n--- Page 2 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT vii. Advise Communications of areas or streets, which may be hazardous to responding personnel. viii. Evaluate the risks of rescuing injured persons, and, if necessary, assist emergency medical personnel in gaining access for the evacuation of injured persons. 2. First Supervisor on Scene. The first supervisor on scene shall: i. Assess the situation and ensure the responsibilities of the first officer on scene have been executed; ii. Verify Communications personnel have notified the shift commander, and provide the shift commander with a situation report; iii. Request additional assistance or support service, if necessary; iv. Request surveillance equipment, if needed and available. 3. Incident Commander: The incident commander shall conduct any or all of the following, depending on situational needs:[CALEA 46.2.1.d] i. Respond to the scene immediately; ii. Obtain a situation report from the initial supervisor at the scene, to include known or suspected weapons, hostages, injuries, etc.; iii. Establish and staff an emergency assault team (using EST members, if available) and inner and outer perimeter, to include directions for adjusting both as the situation changes; iv. When indicated, order a systematic evacuation of the area (residents/business persons) and remove bystanders; v. Establish a field command post, to include a scribe, and chain-of-command vi. Ensure emergency medical personnel are on stand-by in the area; vii. Request a representative of Gainesville Fire and Rescue (GFR) or Alachua County Fire Rescue (ACFR) to be present at the Command Post. viii. Ensure control and coverage of possible travel routes, to include posting marked units to pursue escaping suspects; 2\n\n--- Page 3 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT ix. Gather any relevant intelligence information, both historical and on-scene, to include posting surveillance teams as closely as possible to constantly monitor the scene; x. Designate an assembly area in the outer perimeter for the media, and staff with appropriate personnel; xi. Ensure a cellular telephone is available at the field command post. xii. Refer to the Department’s critical incident plan, when applicable. B. Notifications/Requests for Assistance: When the incident commander determines that a hostage and/or barricaded subject situation exists and requests special team assistance, Communications shall contact the personnel listed below: 1. Special Teams: [CALEA 46.2.1.c] i. Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Commander, ii. Negotiation Response Team (NRT) Commander, iii. Emergency Services Team (EST) Members, iv. Other Unit Commanders (such as canine, aviation) whose assistance is deemed necessary. 2. GPD Administration: The list of administrative personnel to be contacted (the Master Notification List) shall be maintained by the Communications Section. i. Communications personnel shall make notifications of personnel on the list. ii. The list shall include the Chief of Police, Assistant Chief, affected District Commander, IB Commander on-call, other affected bureau commanders, and others. 3. Other Agencies and Mutual Aid: When indicated, the incident commander may request assistance from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, Gainesville or Alachua Fire-Rescue, Gainesville Regional Utilities, or other agency which may provide support or resources. 4. Mutual aid agreements, if they exist, shall be enacted to support inter-agency assistance. 3\n\n--- Page 4 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT C. Communications: 1. Radio Traffic: Incidents involving a hostage or barricaded subject shall require the radio channel being used to operate in the emergency traffic (10-33) mode. 2. Multi-Agency: When the incident involves more than one agency, Communications will patch the appropriate channels or instruct affected personnel what channel operations will continue on. D. Media: 1. The PIO shall be the media liaison, coordinating and providing information to members of the media. 2. The PIO shall establish a media staging area separate from the command post to inform the media of the nature and status of the incident. E. Field Command Post: 1. Staffing: The incident commander shall staff the field command post and assign other personnel as required by the particular situation. 2. Administration: Information that may affect strategic and tactical decisions regarding deployment, safety, or incident resolution shall be forwarded immediately to the field command post via the chain-of-command. 3. Chain-of-Command: The incident commander shall be in charge unless relieved by a higher authority. F. Special Response Group: Whenever feasible, special trained teams shall be used to assist in the operation. [CALEA 46.2.1.b] 1. SWAT Commander: The SWAT Commander shall be responsible for: i. Contacting the incident commander and gathering information, ii. Determining if a call-out is necessary, iii. Deploying SWAT personnel, iv. Containing suspects, v. Maintaining communication with and assisting the NRT Commander. 4\n\n--- Page 5 ---\n\nGAINESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT vi. Commanding a tactical response, when indicated, to prevent imminent harm or suspect escape. 2. NRT Commander: The NRT commander shall be responsible for: i. Contacting the incident commander and gathering information, ii. Determining if a call-out of trained NRT personnel is needed, iii. Ensuring that any on-scene (non-NRT) personnel engaged in negotiations are immediately replaced by an NRT member, iv. Coordinating NRT members for negotiation, v. Maintaining interaction and communication with and assisting the SWAT. 3. Interaction: [CALEA 46.2.1.e] i. To coordinate their courses of action and safely conduct negotiations, members of the SWAT and NRT shall constantly assess the situation and discuss options with one another. ii. The NRT commander shall be in charge of negotiations in the furtherance of a negotiated response. a The SWAT commander shall take command only after both NRT and SWAT commanders agree that a negotiated outcome is unlikely. b The SWAT commander shall organize an immediate tactical response to prevent imminent harm or suspect escape. G. Use-of-Force: 1. Use of force in hostage and/or barricaded subject situations will follow guidelines set for in General Order 1.5., Use of Force. 2. Unless exigent circumstances exist (i.e. active shooter, specific information from NRT), the decision to enter a structure to extract a suspect or rescue a hostage or to use deadly force or chemical agents, shall be the responsibility of the incident comm