How every cop can stop a Fort Hood gunman

Sgt. Kimberly Munley (above), the civilian police officer hailed as a hero for stopping a rampaging gunman at a U.S. military base, could quickly become a poster child for an innovative police training technique, one that isn't well known outside police circles, and, sadly, isn't universally adopted by police departments.

Look for commentators, analysts and people in law enforcement to start a conversation about Immediate Action Rapid Deployment (IARD), in the wake of the Fort Hood massacre that left 13 dead and 38 wounded. In Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police trains in this tactic as do some provincial police agencies and municipal police. The principle is simple: Patrol officers are often the first to reach a violent incident. In the event it is an "active shooter" or "active killer" event, such as a rampaging gunman who is still attacking victims, those first-on-scene patrol officers must be equipped and trained to take aggressive and decisive action. There often isn't time to wait for a highly trained and equipped tactical team. The rapid deployment training teaches patrol officers to plunge in, hunt the killer and neutralize the threat, even if that means shooting the perpetrator. It's contrary to the classic police strategy of establishing a perimeter, waiting for the SWAT team, and perhaps seeking to negotiate with the perpetrator. Experience has shown that strategy often means more deaths.

It seems, based on most reports, that Munley (video) followed an IARD strategy at Fort Hood. Munley, a civilian police officer, fired on gunman Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who appeared intent on killing as many army personnel as possible. Latest reports indicate another civilian police officer, Sgt. Mark Todd, also fired at Hasan. It's not yet clear whose bullets knocked him down. Hasan survived and is in hospital.

It's unclear if Munley or Todd have had something akin to IARD training, though their actions suggest they behaved exactly as though they have: Both quickly sought out the shooter and sought to neutralize him before he could take more lives.

In Canada, an IARD-style response is credited with saving lives at Dawson College in Montreal. Heavily armed gunman Kimveer Gill stormed into the school Sept. 13, 2006 and began shooting. Montreal patrol officers who responded to the school did not set up a perimeter and wait for tactical officers. They bolted into the building, located Gill and shot him. Wounded and on the ground, Gill then took his own life. He was dead just 20 minutes after his rampage began. He had killed one student. The Montreal officers who acted swiftly were credited with saving many other lives. The Dawson College police heroes have been praised in the U.S. for preventing a Virginia Tech-like massacre. In that case, 32 people were killed by a gunman in 2007. The bulk of the deaths came two hours after the perpetrator first began shooting.

Remarkably, not every police department in Canada trains its front-line officers in IARD. Some departments can't afford it, don't have the expertise or the time. Even some large municipal departments don't have the ability to train all officers.

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