600-5 Special Threat Situations

Question 1

The Houston Police Department’s _______ and ________ shall be used in all special threat situations as defined in this General Order

Answer 1

Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Detail, Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT)

Question 2

Active Shooter

Answer 2

One or more suspects who participate in a random or systematic shooting spree, demonstrating intent to continuously harm others. An active shooter’s overriding objective appears to be that of mass murder rather than other criminal conduct such as robbery or hostage taking

Question 3

Barricaded Suspect

Answer 3

Any person who:

Has demonstrated capability and/or stated the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury to any person, including himself, and

Has achieved tactical superiority by location or the use of a physical obstruction (e.g., an open field, a building, a vehicle, any natural or man-made barrier

Question 4

Debriefing/Interviewing

Answer 4

Questioning designed to obtain all useful information for a formal report.

Question 5

Face-to-Face Communications

Answer 5

Communications in which an officer in the kill zone is not using cover or concealment and is able to see and be seen by the suspect

Question 6

Hostage Situation

Answer 6

Any incident in which the possibility exists or the available information indicates that a barricaded suspect may be holding a hostage

Question 7

Inner Perimeter

Answer 7

The area of containment closest to the suspect

Question 8

Kill Zone

Answer 8

Any area in which a suspect can fire or use a weapon that could kill or injure a person.

Question 9

Objective

Answer 9

The physical location where a barricaded suspect or hostage is believed to be located

Question 10

Outer Perimeter

Answer 10

The area of containment that prevents outsiders from interfering with or being endangered by the threat situation

Question 11

Safe Route

Answer 11

Directions to the scene for responding officers that direct them around the kill zone

Question 12

Sniper

Answer 12

Any person who causes or attempts to cause death or bodily injury to another person by discharging a firearm from an initially concealed position

Question 13

Special Threat Situation

Answer 13

Any situation involving a sniper, barricaded suspect, hostage situation, active shooter, terrorist activity, or threatened suicide involving a weapon or from an elevated structure such as a bridge or building

Question 14

Terrorist Activity

Answer 14

Any in-progress act of violence or threat thereof that creates or is designed to create fear of death or imminent bodily injury in the minds of others and is intended to intimidate governments or citizen populations in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.

Question 15

The police response to all special threat situations shall

Answer 15

be measured in proportion to the level of threat to life and public safety

Question 16

When it is determined that a special threat situation is an active shooter, officers shall

Answer 16

follow the concepts and principles taught in the department’s Active Shooter training course.

Question 17

Although any resource of the department may be used to resolve a special threat situation, the primary teams included in the department’s special threat response are

Answer 17

Patrol officers and supervisors

Tactical Operations Division including SWAT Detail and HNT

Special Operations Division

Question 18

The first officers to arrive at the scene shall

Answer 18

Notify the dispatcher that a possible special threat situation exists and request a patrol supervisor from the appropriate district

Confine the suspect to the smallest area possible by establishing an inner perimeter.

If possible, determine if contact with the suspect by telephone is available. Officers shall not use face-to-face communication with an armed suspect without prior approval from the operational commander or HNT coordinator.

Maintain communications with the suspect only if it stabilizes the situation, but shall avoid constantly contacting a suspect who refuses to communicate.

Detain all witnesses for interviewing by Tactical Operations Division personnel.

Upon being relieved, immediately report to the command post for debriefing.

Remain at the scene until debriefed and released by the operational commander or by the senior Homicide Division representative if Homicide Division personnel have been dispatched to the scene.

Question 19

If communications are established, stabilize the emotionally distraught or violent suspect by doing or refraining from doing the following:

Answer 19

Communicate by telephone if possible.

Express a willingness to help through positive

statements. Do not make threatening or intimidating
remarks.

Do not beg or plead with the suspect.

Do not agree to any demands made by the suspect.

Do not allow family members or any non-law
enforcement personnel to speak with the suspect
without prior approval from the operational commander
or HNT coordinator.

Question 20

The first officer to arrive on the scene shall relay, via mobile computing device (MCD) or telephone, the following information to the dispatcher as soon as it becomes available:

Answer 20

Description of the suspect and any weapons.

Location and number of hostages.

Possible avenues of escape.

Safe routes and location to where additional units should respond.

Question 21

If the officer is unable to remain at the scene, the officer may be relieved by the on-scene supervisor after both of the following

Answer 21

The patrol supervisor has verified the officer completed the original incident report including all details up to the time Tactical Operations Division personnel took control of the scene.

The patrol supervisor has assigned another patrol officer to replace the original officer. This replacement officer shall stand by to take custody of any prisoner, file charges when necessary, and supplement the original incident report.

Question 22

The officer originally assigned to the call is responsible for completing the original incident report and filing charges when necessary except…

Answer 22

when circumstances warrant having Homicide Division personnel handle the original incident report, the officer originally assigned to the call shall supplement the report as required by the Homicide Division investigators

Question 23

The first on-scene patrol supervisor shall do all of the following

Answer 23

Confirm a special threat situation exists, notify the Command Center without delay regarding the details of the incident, and provide the Command Center with a direct telephone number to the on-scene supervisor.

Give the dispatcher all pertinent information about the special threat situation (e.g., the correct location, the number of suspects, and the number of hostages) as soon as the information becomes available.

Establish and supervise a mobilization point to which all patrol personnel shall report.

Provide to the operational commander a diagram of the outer perimeter showing the radio numbers and locations of all patrol units along the perimeter.

Complete a Significant Event Report upon conclusion of the incident and immediately send it to the Command Center

Question 24

The concerned captain or duty lieutenant shall do all of the following

Answer 24

Go to the scene and assume overall command of operations until relieved by the operational commander.

Ensure patrol officers man the outer perimeter until relieved by officers from either the Tactical Operations Division or the Special Operations Division.

Ensure the establishment of a command post and a press information center.

Ensure that the citywide radio channel is used to establish communication with Tactical Operations Division personnel responding to the scene.

Question 25

The operational commander for a special threat situation shall be the highest ranking officer in the Homeland Security Command’s chain of command at the scene and may be one of the following

Answer 25

The assistant chief of the Homeland Security Command.

The captain of the Tactical Operations Division.

A designee.

Question 26

HNT and SWAT make a special threat situation, what is their primary goal?

Answer 26

safe release of all hostages and successful termination of the operation without the loss of life