Guidance to Unarmed Aviation Police: When Someone Shoots, Run and Hide
Chicago (CNN) — Hundreds of police officers at one of the country’s busiest airports say in the case of an active shooter, they are instructed to run and hide.
That’s because these officers are unique among the nation’s major airports: They don’t carry guns.
Their badges, uniforms and vehicles all say “police.” And they are certified police officers in the state of Illinois.
But these nearly 300 aviation police officers, also known as aviation security officers, are not allowed to carry guns at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports.
The officers who are armed are from the Chicago Police Department, which is the primary law enforcement agency at O’Hare and Midway.
Internal aviation department documents obtained through department sources state, “If evacuation is not possible: hide.”
The documents advise locking doors, turning off lights and remaining quiet and calm.
“We must also ensure that unarmed security personnel … do not attempt to become part of the response, but could be invaluable to the evacuation efforts,” the documents said.
In addition, a training video shown to aviation police officers has the same instructions: “If evacuation is not possible, you should find a place to hide where the active shooter is less likely to find you. Block entry to your hiding place and lock the door.”
Read the article “Guidance to Unarmed Aviation Police: When Someone Shoots, Run and Hide” on cnn.com.
