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The Sarasota Police Department in Florida, with 192 sworn officers and more than 60 civilian staff, faced a critical coordination challenge when responding to a high-risk situation involving an armed subject positioned near a school and busy shopping center. The subject had called 911 stating his intention to end his life as soon as police arrived, creating an imminent threat to public safety.
Lieutenant Dwayne Shellhammer, the Emergency Response Commander, needed to simultaneously lock down the school, secure a perimeter around the shopping area and coordinate multiple specialized units including SWAT, drone operators and negotiators.
Prior to implementing Intrepid Response, the department utilized traditional communication methods that had served them well for years but presented limitations in high-stakes situations where real-time information sharing across multiple teams was essential.
“We previously relied on pagers for notifications. They were reliable but limited in how much detail we could share about locations and tactical information.”
Real-time visual intelligence
Drone operators provided aerial surveillance of the subject and shared images and video footage through the application, giving all responding units immediate visibility of the subject’s location, vehicle and weapon. “The drone was able to send out pictures and videos of the truck, the location where the subject was, and we got a good video of the guy with the gun and we sent those out via Intrepid Response to everybody,” explained Shellhammer.
Cross-team communication
When the subject attempted a false surrender tactic, the negotiation team utilized the platform to instantly alert all units about the deception, allowing tactical teams to maintain appropriate positioning and response protocols.
Unified command visibility
From the command post, supervisors maintained comprehensive situational awareness by tracking the locations of all specialized units and coordinating resources based on real-time intelligence from the field.
The impact
The coordinated response facilitated by Intrepid Response resulted in a successful resolution without injuries to the subject, officers or bystanders – a remarkable outcome for a high-risk situation involving an armed individual in a public area.
“He was dead set on us killing him. If it wasn’t for the successful negotiation, but also us having that information available to us within Intrepid Response so we didn’t just rush into that scene, it would have been a completely different outcome. Nobody died that day or got hurt. That’s probably the most successful incident.”
Beyond this life-saving incident, Sarasota PD has leveraged Intrepid Response across multiple emergency scenarios with significant operational improvements:
Hurricane response
During recent hurricanes, the solution provided unprecedented situational awareness to the Emergency Operations Center through real-time photos and videos from field officers. “I’m stuck up here in the Emergency Operations Center. We don’t have windows. It’s the middle of night when these hurricanes hit,” explained Lt. Shellhammer. “To see in real time what the flood water looks like makes all the difference in emergency response decisions.”
The system also streamlined recovery operations by allowing command staff to visually track which areas had been checked and which roads were accessible, eliminating duplication of efforts and optimizing resource allocation during critical recovery periods.
Civil unrest management
Following a homicide in an area with strained community relations, patrol officers faced a hostile crowd situation that required rapid backup. The instant activation capability of Intrepid Response enabled a swift show of force that helped defuse the situation without injuries to officers or community members.
Command staff visibility
The platform has provided executive leadership with unprecedented operational insight during critical incidents. “The chief was really impressed with the product,” noted Lt. Shellhammer. “When he walks into the command center and sees all that information displayed, he knows this is a legitimate operation and all resources are being used effectively.”
Why Intrepid Response
Intrepid Response is a highly interactive tool that enables teams to securely communicate, coordinate and collaborate over a common operating picture. Some of its benefits are to:
- Empower teams: Accelerate informed decisions and improve response times in high-stress situations.
- Enable interoperability: Multi-agency collaboration is made easy with native, on-the-fly mutual aid capability.
- Drive efficiency: Automate critical workflows for faster, more accurate resource and data management.
- Enhance safety: Provide actionable and digestible information while reducing radio congestion.
The Sarasota Police Department’s experience demonstrates how Intrepid Response bridges the gap between field personnel and command centers, redefining emergency operations with enhanced speed, accuracy and efficiency in life-critical situations.
“Knowledge is key, especially when walking into dangerous situations. For keeping patrol officers safe and enabling rapid response, nothing compares to having instant information sharing across all platforms,” said Shellhammer. “With Intrepid Response, we’ve turned this corner and I don’t see us going back. That’s the difference maker.”
For more information or to schedule a demo, visit Intrepid Networks.