The Vancouver Police Department has released a video advising the public on how to respond to a mass attack, with the chief of police saying there is no specific threat against the city but the department cannot bury its head in the sand.
The eight-minute educational video, posted online Wednesday, depicts a shooting inside an office building and viewers are told when to run, hide or fight.
Adam Palmer, Vancouver’s chief constable, told reporters that mass shootings, stabbings and vehicle attacks are occurring more frequently around the world and the public must be prepared.
“We’re not trying to fearmonger or anything like that. I just think that putting our head in the sand and pretending that everything is going to be fine is also not an option. It’s like preparing for earthquakes or anything else. It may not happen for 150 years, but you have to be prepared for it,” he said at a news conference.
Chief Palmer said it could be several minutes until first responders can reach the scene of an attack and the public must know what to do.
“These will be high-stress situations and we don’t want to overcomplicate the messaging so we’ve boiled it down to three things to remember,” he said.
Chief Palmer said the first element − running − refers to running to safety, if possible.
If it is not safe to run, he said the next step is to hide.
The third step, if a person cannot run or hide, is to fight, he said.
“This is a last resort and you have every right to defend yourself under high-risk situations,” he said.
Chief Palmer said an individual might not utilize all three steps and the course of action could depend on the scenario. In a vehicle attack, for instance, he said the best approach would be to run.
The chief said he has seen videos of this sort developed in the U.S., though he was not aware of any police departments in Canada producing such content.
Chief Palmer said the idea for the video came around September, 2016. He said officers completed an exercise involving different scenarios, including active shooters, and decided the public also needed to know how to respond.
Chief Palmer stressed Vancouver is not facing a specific threat. He said the national security threat remains at medium, where it has been since October, 2014, after the Parliament Hill shooting.
In addition to educating the public, Chief Palmer said the department is also encouraging employers to have their own safety plans to ensure employees know what to do in case of an emergency. He said such safety plans must be practised.
The chief said the video was created with input from E-Comm 9-1-1, BC Emergency Health Services and Vancouver Fire and Rescue.
Oliver Grüter-Andrew, president of E-Comm 9-1-1, said an emergency call for the type of scenario seen in the video would go to a dispatcher who works alongside Vancouver police.
“The dispatcher communicates with the officers. As the call materializes on the dispatch screen – think of it as a computer screen – the dispatcher then sends the information to the relevant cars,” he said in an interview.
The video cost $20,000 to produce and was funded by the Vancouver Police Foundation.