Responding to a Hostage Situation

Once a recent 14-hour hostage standoff finally ended, a mother and young child were killed by the hostage taker (the estranged father), one LEO was killed in the gun fire exchange, and two other LEOs sustained non–life-threatening gunshot injuries. One officer, who was shot in the back, is expected to be paralyzed. EMS professionals were on the scene since the beginning of the police intervention, anticipating transport of any injured persons to the hospital. As part of the CISM team connected with the police department, describe your action plan for intervening in this situation.

Discussion Questions

1. What groups would you assess as being a priority and how would you proceed?

2. If the timeframe for the standoff lasted longer than expected, how would the intervention change and how would you implement PFA, CISM, or MANERS during the standoff?

3. What unique stressors would the injured officers or family members of the officer’s experience that may need to be addressed? What resources would you think are important to have available for them?

4. What intervention would you integrate if, during a debriefing, a first responder terminated prior to you getting a comprehensive assessment?