Most active shooter situations are over in minutes – but not all. When they’re prolonged, it’s vital for law enforcement to establish communication with the perpetrator. But historically that’s come with some challenges.
Take the 2016 mass shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, which killed 49. While the initial gunfire was over quickly, shooter Omar Mateen barricaded himself in a bathroom with hostages, and the ensuing standoff lasted three hours. The only way negotiators had to communicate with Mateen was via his cell phone, but he was mostly unresponsive, and their success sporadic.
Getting a dedicated throw phone to such perpetrators is better but still no guarantee they’ll interact. During the 2010 hostage crisis at the Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, Maryland, activist James Lee, carrying two starter’s pistols and wearing apparent explosives, remained uncooperative even as negotiators tried a throw phone and communicating by loudspeaker.
In both these cases, negotiators lacked listening devices inside the location and suffered communication delays that limited their ability to assess the situation and respond effectively.
‘A completely different approach’
If circumstances allow you to make contact with an active shooter or the perpetrator of a hostage or barricade-type crisis, you’d better make the most of it. Progressing technology has provided crisis teams with an ever-improving array of tools to do that – tools that go beyond mere conversation – but that doesn’t mean they’re always in the hands of those who need them.
Especially in smaller and less-resourced departments, officers thrust into such unexpected scenarios are still often forced to improvise.
“We talk to some customers who don’t have any negotiation solution at all – they’re just calling the suspect on their own cellphones,” said Ben Fitzgerald, chief technology officer for LETS Corp., a California-based provider of crisis communication solutions for law enforcement. “You can have regular cops who show up at these situations and have to use their work phone or even their personal phone to try to talk to these people.”
Since 2018, the company’s LETS Respond package has offered a handy solution set that’s included a throw phone to allow direct contact between negotiators and barricaded suspects, along with other key negotiation-enhancing capabilities. In 2025, that package has been upgraded to Respond+, which adds multiple new features based on new technology and feedback from officers who’ve experienced these difficult situations.
“What we’re launching now is much more application-based,” added Fitzgerald. “As a result, it has a lot more features to support situational awareness and communication as law enforcement and crisis response becomes more integrated with mental health professionals and other kinds of cross-agency teams. It’s a completely different approach.”
Needs change over time
While LETS Respond successfully helped countless law enforcement organizations bring difficult incidents to safe resolutions, LETS Corp. leaders nonetheless kept their ears to the proverbial ground over the years on what might be added or changed.
Police needs aren’t static – they evolve over time. For instance, younger suspects and younger officers, like younger people in general, are increasingly more comfortable with texting than talking on the phone. While LETS Respond supported texting, Respond+ improves it with some key enhancements.
For LETS Corp. leaders, staying abreast of current trends and pain points entails a heavy schedule of trade shows where reps can interact with both users and nonusers, as well as an engaged and interactive process of developing solutions for clients.
“Our sales cycle is very collaborative and conversational,” said Fitzgerald. “From the first interaction we’re learning about their needs and communicating what we can offer. We’ll be honest with what we provide and what it does, and we want people to make well-informed decisions and be happy with what they have.”
How are negotiations different?
What those officers often depict is a process that’s changed a fair bit over the years with advancing technology, evolving threat profiles and lessons from high-profile incidents. These changes have occurred in two main areas:
- A shift toward behavior-based negotiation, with an emphasis on psychology and behavioral science. Crisis teams have become more multidisciplinary, integrating mental health professionals, behavior analysts and others.
- Advancing technology has enabled secure two-way communication even on personal smartphones. Negotiators can now use text messaging, video calls and social media monitoring. Real-time transcription and AI analysis can improve situational awareness, and remote experts can be linked into high-risk negotiations in real time.
Respond+ not only reflects and supports those concepts but makes them accessible even to smaller and resource-challenged departments.
“Fundamentally,” said Fitzgerald, “what it gives small departments is the capabilities and resources, like those of a large agency, to be able to address crises of any kind without having to make an extensive investment in resourcing. It’s intuitive and seamless to use and cost-effective to manage over time.”
The platform’s media and communication tools include calling and texting, group and direct messaging, document upload, photo and video sharing, voice messages, location sharing and custom mapping. Using a dedicated solution also averts security concerns that may accompany doing official business on personal devices.
Specific features include the ability to set up unique incident phone numbers; real-time AI transcription of calls; individual incident archives; and support for external collaboration on a per-incident basis. The company includes its improved Throw Phone+ with the package; this supports video calling and can provide live 360-degree video from its front and back cameras simultaneously, with ultralow video latency and comprehensive remote control.
“We successfully talked out a barricaded male with a significant number of firearms and extensive hunting and shooting experience,” reported a representative from a Pennsylvania department that used the package.
Full embrace of the Respond+ package can help departments improve situational awareness, boost coordination and collaboration, and enhance the collection and handling of evidence. Police in smaller communities – as well as the victims of violent incidents – deserve that just as much as their colleagues in larger places.
“There’s been a real disparity between the resources available at the agency level to enable how agencies respond to crisis and negotiation situations,” said Fitzgerald. “For agencies with limited resources, Respond+ enables them to respond to all kinds of crises more effectively, without having to expand exorbitant amounts of resources and investment up front.”
For more information, visit LETS Corp.
