Safety at the scene: Role of cops, medical workers not always understood

MONTROSE — A suspect with a loaded gun in a crowd. A group of men, one with a knife. A domestic disturbance. It doesn't matter what the situation is, an officer's primary responsibility is the same: find and neutralize the threat.

"When we have an incident, no matter where it might be, it is going to take a certain amount of officers to be able to quell any type of crowd," Montrose Police Chief Tom Chinn said.

The actual scene protocols will differ, depending on the threat.

Recently, two officers responded to a building alarm, but found an intruder inside. One officer, Geo Mendoza, was allegedly attacked with a weapon and had to fire his gun, then retreat. After being treated, Mendoza returned and successfully negotiated the surrender of the young suspect, later identified as Kenneth Jackson.

Last year, officers and paramedics responded to a shooting in a First Street parking lot that left one woman injured. The suspect, Gilberto Aguilar, fled the scene and officers had to determine not just where he was, but whether he had accomplices still in the area.

The victim's family is critical of police response to the injured woman, as well as the plea agreement Aguilar reached with the district attorney's office. They previously said they are considering filing a lawsuit against the city.

Chinn did not address specific incidents, but said in a "shots fired" call, finding the shooter is the priority.

"The No. 1 objective of law enforcement is to determine who's firing the gun and to apprehend that individual so others are not injured," Chinn said. "The mission in every active shooting case is to find and capture the shooter or otherwise eliminate the threat."

Doing otherwise can also expose an officer to injury, which in turn increases the chances the suspect in a violent crime has of getting away.

Officers also have to make sure the scene is safe enough for emergency responders.

"The police department has to go in there to clear the scene and make sure it's safe for our guys to go in," Montrose Fire Protection District Deputy Chief Dale Erickson said. He also referred to an active shooting scene as an example.

"A lot of times, we don't have any idea why that gunshot wound has taken place, whether it was an accident or deliberate. One of the things taught in every EMT class is to make sure the scene is safe before you arrive."

The MPD and other agencies undergo training to deal with possible scenarios, such as a school or mall shooting. There is no one, set protocol for responding to a volatile scene, Chinn said, but officers use their training in order to assess the situation.

The public doesn't always understand the role of a particular agency, Chinn said.

"Lots of times, they think we're a little of everything — doctors, lawyers. We're not. But a lot of people believe we are those things,

"Our (the police department's) job is to enforce the law and to include the community into the equation."

Chinn also said citizens can misunderstand an officer's intent at a given scene. "It's officer safety and trying to control masses with very limited resources."

That doesn't mean the police will just ignore other aspects of a scene. If someone is injured, they are to summon medical help and, where appropriate, utilize their first aid training.

"If it's something we can do, we certainly will perform whatever type of first aid needs to be performed," Chinn said.

Erickson said that for the most part, the public understands what first responders' roles are — but they might not understand how these are carried out.

"A lot of times, people wonder why there's a fire truck on a car wreck. It's for extra manpower, because you can only put two people on an ambulance."

The extra crew members are to assist with the loading and prepping of patients for transport, Erickson said.

He said both police and sheriff's officers assist with ambulance calls on critical incidents.