It’s a call no chief of police wants to receive – the call that reveals an officer has been killed in the line of duty. In an ideal world, the answer to the headline of this article would be “no, we are not prepared,” because ideally LODDs would never happen in the first place. But the sad reality is that they do happen. Unfortunately, 23 times this year alone (at the time of publishing), chiefs of police have gotten “that” call and police departments across the United States have had to face a loss of one of their own.
Though it’s a scenario no department wants to face, it’s one that requires discussion and preplanning.
Ensure there’s streamlined communications
In today’s world of instant communication, word of a LODD will move quickly. It's crucial that departments have protocols in place to swiftly notify the family prior to any other announcement. Agencies should have contact information for each officer’s emergency contact, as well as that person’s place of employment (with a phone number and address in case it’s during work hours). Prior to a social media post or press release, protocol should be put in place to notify top city officials, too.
Social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter, can be used to make an initial announcement to the community. Make sure that you have a high-resolution image of every officer in uniform on file, as well as their years of service. Determine beforehand who will write the social media post - it’s important that that person has practice posting to social media regularly. In addition, that person should be able to create an image of the department badge with a black mourning line for social media purposes. Ensure that someone from within the department is monitoring the social media pages consistently.
An official press release should also be written and shared via social media, on your department and city websites and with local press. After a LODD, things will move quickly and it’s critical that your department has a streamlined communications plan in place so there are no questions about what has been and still needs to be done.
Assign a community/department liaison
More often than not, there will be immense community outpouring after a LODD. After all, this officer wasn’t just part of a department, but also part of the community. Is your department prepared to handle calls from local businesses and community members with food and money donations? What about those asking about official t-shirts of remembrance or plans about funeral arrangements and how they can help? Your department may be bombarded by folks with the best of intentions, but if you’re not prepared, it may just add to the stress your department is already under.
An event like this can have a huge impact on small departments in terms of day to day operations. Officers are still required to go on patrol and the department must continue to serve the public. Try including retired officers, civilian staff or officer’s spouses in preplanning. Perhaps a retiree could be responsible for being the community/department liaison or an officer’s spouse could handle all food/floral donations to the department. Perhaps a civilian staff member could be responsible for monitoring social media pages.
Have a plan in place
Although large departments have teams of communications specialists and many hands to help during the unfortunate event of a LODD, most departments in the United States are not large. The PIO (if there is one) cannot be expected to handle everything in the event of a LODD, nor can just a few folks in the department. It must be a whole-team effort, written down and communicated as a precaution.
A few questions to ask yourself: Who will work with the family to plan funeral arrangements? Will any on-camera interviews be given with local television stations? What if the chief can’t get ahold of the family right away? These are just one of many to consider.
A line-of-duty death can happen at any department, no matter the size or location. The best thing you can do is to have a plan in place. The loss will be felt through the department and the community, but thoughtful preparation can help ease the stress and flurry of such an event.
