[blindlaw] active shooter trainings?

Thu Dec 10 16:19:32 UTC 2015

Hiding in the evidence cabinet, I like that idea.  I would definitely
fit in one.  I think the best advice is to figure out for yourself
ahead of time where the best hiding places are, and be sure you know
how to get to those places from anywhere in the building you might be.
Have someone help at first if needed until you are confident that you
can get several possible locations on your own from anywhere you might
be.  I have never been involved in an actual drill because my building
has not done them, but I have thought about it before and always
figured I just need to have good hiding places in mind which I know I
can get to confidently.  Of course I also think of places where my dog
can hide with me as well.
I definitely would think this might be a more difficult situation for
a wheel chair user.  I would be interested in talking to some wheel
chair users to see what they might think is a good way to deal with
this type of situation.
I have to agree that relying on a sighted coworker is not necessarily
a good plan.  I personally would not feel confident relying on sighted
assistance from anybody in a situation which is almost definitely
going to cause panic and chaos.  It is also such an unpredictable
situation, and nobody really knows how they will handle it until it
happens.  Definitely not the best time to be counting on someone else
who does not even know how they themselves will handle a real life
active shooter situation.

Shelley Palmadessa

On 12/10/15, Susan Kelly via blindlaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Thanks - that has always been my thought and plan.  Being small, I figure
> that I can hide in an evidence cabinet in the courtroom if nothing else
> exists.  Allegedly, there is a space for wheelchair bound persons in the
> judicial chambers area at court, but...this is on the second floor, and is
> in a mag-card protected restricted area.  It is thus difficult to figure how
> that will work in such a situation, particularly given that we have only
> two, very small elevators.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ronza
> Othman via blindlaw
> Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2015 7:10 PM
> To: 'Blind Law Mailing List' <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Ronza Othman <rothmanjd at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] active shooter trainings?
>
> My Agency has a function in the Security Office specifically geared towards
> working with employees with disabilities.  So when we get the Active Shooter
> Training, evacuation training, shelter in place training, biohazard
> training, all of it, they do think about and talk about how individuals with
> disabilities can respond.  For active shooter, the rule is run, hide,
> fight.
> Their suggestions for run were to get out of there is quickly as possible
> (wheelchair, scooter, whatever), if safe and if you aren't going to be
> seen.
> They suggest we assess our flight capacity when deciding whether to run or
> hide.  When hiding, they talk about how the goal is to find a sturdy
> location with as much protection (3-4 walls - as possible.  They suggest you
> scope this out ahead of time and find yourself a couple of options for "safe
> rooms" like storage rooms.  They talk about how bathrooms aren't always the
> best place to hide because the doors don't lock.  They talk about how folks
> in wheelchairs, to the extent possible, should either find places to hide
> where their chairs are hidden too, or if they can, find ways to maneuver out
> of their chairs to secure a smaller hiding place.  And with regard to fight,
> they say to use whatever you have access to - hands, equipment, whatever, to
> fight.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Keri via
> blindlaw
> Sent: Wednesday, December 9, 2015 3:38 PM
> To: Blind Law Mailing List
> Cc: Keri
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] active shooter trainings?
>
> That seems to be the most common.
>
> On 12/9/2015 1:46 PM, Susan Kelly via blindlaw wrote:
>> So far, the only "adaptation" we have received is that a co-worker
>> look
> out for us.  Not exactly an empowering solution.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>> Gerard Sadlier via blindlaw
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2015 11:06 AM
>> To: Blind Law Mailing List <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Gerard Sadlier <gerard.sadlier at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw] active shooter trainings?
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> This is interesting if a little surprising - I'd be interested in
>> reading
> re: adaptations etc. suggested.
>>
>> Thanks
>>
>> Ger
>>
>> On 12/9/15, Keri via blindlaw <blindlaw at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> I think it is up to the trainers to do research and offer suggestions.
>>> At my university the campus police officer(who is a real policeman)
>>> offered me personal suggestions on adapting, but I don't think there
>>> is official methods. My school is willing to teach for different
>>> situations however to students, staff, and faculty.
>>>
>>>
>>> On 12/9/2015 10:24 AM, Susan Kelly via blindlaw wrote:
>>>> Apologies in advance that this is only tangentially a legal question
>>>> (being somewhat civil rights involved), but given that many of us
>>>> are governmental employees, or at least in larger groups, I am
>>>> hoping there is an answer among us.
>>>>
>>>> Our county has done active shooter trainings for the last couple of
> years.
>>>>   Unfortunately, they have absolutely zero training or suggestions
>>>> for those of us who are blind or wheelchair-bound.  Has anyone
>>>> participated in a training that accounts for these differences?
>>>> Does any such training even exist?
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> .com
>>> --
>>> Keri
>>>
>>>
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> --
> Keri
>
>
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-- 
Thank You
Shelley Palmadessa
shelleyrichards9 at gmail.com