Legal

Use of force and after a shooting

CCMS-SEC-SOP-001 §4.6, §10.5

The team exists to stop the killing, not to punish, raid, or give interviews.

1. 1

   Local law, not bravado, governs. Deadly force is reserved for the imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to an innocent person, consistent with the law of the jurisdiction where you stand.

2. 2

   Identify. Isolate. Challenge if time exists. Use force only to stop the threat.

3. 3

   Priority of life: congregants and children, then the team, then the attacker.

4. 4

   When the threat is down: holster or stay on the threat with muzzle discipline, start medical, and prepare to be treated as an unknown armed subject when officers arrive. Empty hands visible, gun on the deck or holstered, verbal identification, comply.

5. 5

   No team member speaks to the media or gives a detailed recorded statement to police without first calling the Safety Director and church counsel.

6. 6

   Preserve the scene if a crime occurred. Identify witnesses. Collect team written statements before memories harden into folklore.

7. 7

   Elders and the Safety Director notify families, insurer, and counsel. No one improvises theology or tactics on camera.

This field guide does not replace 911, a medical director, or licensed clinical judgment. It does not authorize anyone to practice beyond license and current training.