The impact of the sniper incident on law enforcement

Author: Demme N / Fitzgerald J
Publication: Md Med
Topics: Crime Homicide Law Enforcement U.S./National
Keywords: Fear POLICE investigation media sniper
Bibliographic information +

The authors describe the impact of a sniper incident on law enforcement. They report on the police officers’ perceived lack of control of the situation, their fear of vulnerability for themselves and their families, but also the personal sacrifices they made, and the increased likelihood to be receptive to warnings of impending threats and to develop relationships and network with other agencies. They describe actions taken by a district commander to deter the shootings, explain that the investigators’ role became harder, because of the media’s concurrent independent investigations, and explain that, frustratingly, police officers were trying to stay ahead of the media and avoided giving targets to the shooters.