Division A - Public Relations Programs
Category 5 - Crisis Communication
Polk County Sheriff's Office Deputy Involved Shooting
Polk County Sheriff's Office, Public Information Office
Golden Image Award
Research/Situation Analysis:
On September 28, 2006, a Polk County Sheriff’s deputy and his dog had
been shot and killed by an unknown suspect who was at large; another
deputy sheriff had been shot and wounded in the leg by the same
suspect; two city police officers who had responded as back-up
exchanged gunfire with the suspect before he retreated into the woods;
three nearby schools in the area were locked down - the nearest, a high
school, with over 1,600 students, was on lockdown for a total of 7
hours; at that time, it was unknown whether or not the suspect had
escaped the PCSO perimeter or was hiding in the thick underbrush and
wooded area where the shootings occurred. A school shooting had
occurred in Colorado just one day prior to this incident, so part of
the media frenzy and public panic was due to that unfortunate
coincidence. The two Public Information Officers (PIO’s) quickly
realized that this situation had to be handled delicately, yet swiftly,
or it would quickly spin out of control.
Objectives: 1) Create a media staging area that
provided cover from the elements, restroom facilities, and if possible,
food and drink; 2) Give the media as much information as possible, as
quickly as possible; 3) Broadcast as much information about the
situation as possible to the public, via media outlets, to reduce the
quickly-spreading panic and fear; 4) Utilize the media to enlist the
public’s help in locating the unknown, dangerous suspect; 5) Maintain
the privacy and concern for the well-being of the family members of the
injured and slain deputies.
Implementation: Members of the Public Information
Office, together with the Audio-Visual Production Manager, maintained a
media staging area during the first day of the incident at a local
Hardee’s restaurant, after consulting with the manager. News trucks had
ample room for parking, and a section of the parking lot was cordoned
off for news conferences. Media representatives had access to restroom
facilities, food, and drink.
One PIO was at the staging area with
the media, while the second PIO staged at the command center and
provided updates from the incident commander and the Sheriff. Both
PIO’s utilized wireless internet-capable laptop computers and both sent
out updated Media Alerts around the clock. Day two of the incident, the
media staging area was moved to the high school adjacent to the mobile
command center, and the Public Information Officers (PIO’s) ensured the
building and restroom facilities at the school were available for the
media’s use as well. The PIO’s used Verizon wireless-Palm mobile
telephones, with email and text capabilities, to maintain constant
contact with each other. A total of seven news conferences were held
during the incident: the first news conference was held within 2 hours
of the shooting. Two subsequent, scheduled news conferences were held
later that evening, for the purpose of disseminating updated
information and seeking the public’s help in locating the suspect. The
Sheriff was the designated spokesperson, and both PIO’s and the Chief
of Staff were immediately available for support if needed. Four more
news conferences were held the following day – one was held first thing
in the morning, for the purpose of discussing any breaking news that
may have occurred overnight. The second news conference was impromptu,
but due to the availability of the media staging area (right across the
street from the mobile command center) all of the media were on-hand to
hear the Sheriff say that the suspect had been found, shot, and killed,
and that the situation was resolved. Two subsequent, scheduled news
conferences followed, that included PCSO personnel, and family and
friends of the injured and slain deputies were on-hand to answer
follow-up questions. The Audio-Visual Production Manager coordinated
pool camera access to the crime scene before and after the suspect was
located. That video footage proved invaluable to the media, the public,
and agency members in the aftermath of the crisis. Immediately
following the shooting and continuing for an additional week, the PIO’s
continued to release critical information to the media and were always
available 24/7 for follow-up questions related to the incident, the
autopsy results, the funeral arrangements, and support for the
deputies’ families.
Evaluation: The efficient
and timely implementation of a crisis communication plan by the Office
of Communications staff proved to be a highly effective way of
proactively disseminating up-to-date information to the media and
public. Both PIO’s and the Sheriff received constant praise from local
and national news production staff members during and after the
situation for the manner in which they handled the media and their
needs. Because of the already-established relationships with local
media representatives, and the experience of handling of national news
incidents prior to this one, the PIO’s were able to gain control of the
“feeding frenzy” that ensued after the deputies were shot, and
effectively give the media everything they needed in a most timely
manner. They were able to do so through utilization of their proven
communications network capabilities, such as sending Media Alerts from
the field and updating the 24-hour digital Media Information Line on a
routine basis, and by relying on the trust and positive reputations
that had already been earned.
Budget: The Public Information Officers and
Audio-Visual Production Manager are salaried employees, who incur no
overtime. Implementation of the crisis communication plan fell within
their normal job descriptions.