AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

EDM Friday Briefing: Middle School Shooting In Los Angeles, Trapped South African Miners Rescued

Emergency and disaster management briefing for February 2, 2018: A school shooting in Los Angeles that injured four may be investigated as an accidental shooting, the New York City Police Department is accelerating its rollout of body cameras, inefficient responses to 911 calls has the Houston Fire Department searching for answers, a man that was shot 16 times in Cleveland, Ohio waits for an ambulance that never shows, a mobile unit is set to help alleviate emergency room congestion due to the flu in Atlanta, Georgia, NTSB says Amtrak train was doing the speed limit but eyewitnesses say crossing guards may have malfunctioned, a female passenger was arrested after charging the cockpit on an American Airlines flight, and nearly 1,000 South African miners trapped underground for over 24 hours were freed on Friday.

  1. A 12-year-old girl is in custody after [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2018/02/01/us/los-angeles-sal-castro-middle-school-shooting/index.html” title=”allegedly shooting four students accidentally at the Sal Castro Middle School”] in Los Angeles, California on Thursday. The shooting was reported to police at about 8:55 a.m., and when police arrived at the school, they found one male shot in the head, and one female shot in the wrist, [link url=”http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-belmont-high-shooting-20180201-story.html” title=”both 15-year-olds”]. Two other students suffered graze wounds, and one adult suffered a minor injury in the aftermath of the shooting.  
  2. New York City’s Police Department is [link url=”https://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-bodycameras/new-york-city-says-accelerating-rollout-of-police-body-cameras-idUSKBN1FJ34X” title=”accelerating the rollout of its body cameras for patrol officers”] one year earlier than planned amid concerns by the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association and  the Center for Constitutional Rights. Officials believe the cameras will help de-escalate situations and provide accountability for both officers and the public, although according to the Center for Constitutional Rights, [link url=”http://abc7ny.com/nypd-to-equip-cops-with-over-20000-body-cams-by-end-of-year/3009207/” title=”little data or analysis currently exists to substantiate that claim”]. The program will cost the department $5.9 million in 2018, another $12 million in 2019, and $9.5 million in 2020 for the cameras and the needed technology upgrades.  
  3. Overwhelmed by inefficient responses to 911 calls, [link url=”https://www.click2houston.com/news/investigates/houston-fire-department-struggles-to-find-efficient-response-to-some-911-calls” title=”the Houston Fire Department is looking at changing how it processes those calls to determine what unit to send”]. The current system sends the closest available unit to the call, and while that may seem ideal, it often results in inefficiencies when the responding unit cannot meet the need, requiring additional units to be dispatched to the same call. The hope is to change the model of dispatching through a program that asks more detailed questions and can pinpoint the true need of the caller, [link url=”http://www.dailydispatch.com/StateNews/TX/2018/January/31/Houston.Fire.Department.struggles.to.find.efficient.response.to.some.911.calls.aspx” title=”reducing wear and tear and maintenance costs on expensive vehicles”], including fire engines and ambulances.  
  4. A man shot 16 times in Cleveland, Ohio nearly died after [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/us/cleveland-no-ambulance-trnd/index.html” title=”the City of Cleveland refused to send an ambulance because he had driven across city lines”] into the adjacent City of Euclid. When police arrived on the scene, Ronald Newberry, 22, was suffering from multiple gunshots wounds, so they called for an ambulance and then administered first aid. Euclid EMS were on the other side of the city dealing with a house fire, unable to respond, and Cleveland would not respond, which eventually forced police officers to put the man, who was pleading for help, in their car and [link url=”http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/us/cleveland-no-ambulance-trnd/index.html” title=”drive him two minutes to the closest hospital”]. An internal investigation is being conducted into the incident.
  5. In an attempt to deal with the flu epidemic that is overwhelming Georgia, [link url=”http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/atlanta-hospital-deploys-mobile-unit-handle-flu-cases-52699447″ title=”Grady Memorial Hospital has established a mobile unit”] to help deal with the influx of flu patients. The specialized trailer, being leased from the Carolinas HealthCare System, has 14 beds which should reduce the number of emergency room patients by about 100 per day. Grady has the unit for [link url=”http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/atlanta-hospital-deploys-mobile-unit-handle-flu-cases-52699447″ title=”30 days at a cost of $200,000 dollars”], excluding supplies. 
  6. The chartered Amtrak train carrying GOP lawmakers that was involved in a crash on Wednesday [link url=”http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/latest-man-killed-train-crash-father-year-52768684″ title=”was said to be traveling at the posted speed limit”] when it struck a garbage truck, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Investigators also noted that the emergency brake was engaged, however, eyewitnesses indicate it may be possible that the crossing arms were malfunctioning. [link url=”http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-gop-train-crash-20180201-story.html” title=”The crash killed one passenger in the truck”], Christopher Foley, 28, and seriously injured the two other truck occupants, one of whom has been identified as Dennis Eddy. The train crash occurred in Crozet, Virginia, killing one person and injuring a total of six people. 
  7. A female passenger was taken into custody after her plane landed in Charlotte, North Carolina for [link url=”http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2018/02/01/woman-restrained-with-duct-tape-zip-ties-after-storming-cockpit.html” title=”attacking three crew members during the flight”]. The plane was traveling from Dallas/Ft. Worth to Charlotte on Wednesday morning when during the descent, Charlene Sarieann Harriot, 36, [link url=”http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article197890439.html” title=”allegedly left her seat and rushed down the aisle toward the cockpit”]. Orders to stop went unheeded and when flight attendants went to restrain her, she became violent, biting one, punching another, and kicking a third crew member. 
  8. Nearly 1,000 miners, [link url=”https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/02/02/trapped-south-african-miners-rescued/1089698001/” title=”who had been trapped underground for more than 24 hours in a South African gold mine”], were rescued on Friday. A strong storm knocked out power in the area and to the Beatrix gold mine, rendering a lift used to transport workers into and out of the mine, inoperable. The 955 trapped workers were able to receive food and water, but ventilation was inadequate and [link url=”https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/02/africa/south-africa-gold-mine-trapped-intl/index.html” title=”the incident sparked a barrage of criticism towards Sibanye-Stillwater”], owner of the mine and a multinational corporation, about its [link url=”https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/02/africa/south-africa-gold-mine-trapped-intl/index.html” title=”lack of safety protocols, including an emergency/alternate exit plan from the mine”]. 

Kimberly Arsenault serves as an intern at the Cleveland/Bradley County Emergency Management Agency where she works on plan revisions and special projects. Previously, Kimberly spent 15 years in commercial and business aviation. Her positions included station manager at the former Midwest Express Airlines, as well as corporate flight attendant, inflight manager, and charter flight coordinator. Kimberly currently holds a master's degree in emergency and disaster management from American Public University.

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