Texas Department of Public Safety

Tactical Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) encompasses the skillset of prehospital care that is required to support all phases of operations performed by tactical law-enforcement personnel. High-risk operations can result in critical injuries to those involved. Although TEMS clinicians have been taught to address critical hemorrhage, airway, and breathing issues, there is a benefit in incorporating the use of prehospital blood to reverse hemorrhagic shock. Given the unique environment in which TEMS clinicians operate, this does require forethought, planning, and modification of civilian prehospital blood protocols. This narrative review discusses the unique considerations for this area of prehospital care and reviews current examples of successful blood incorporation from four separate law-enforcement agencies, identifying variations that agencies can adopt to successfully incorporate prehospital blood into TEMS operations. We demonstrate that civilian prehospital blood protocols can be modified to allow incorporation into TEMS operations. Future research should review outcomes when blood is administered within the TEMS environment.

Purpose In response to recent school shooting tragedies, many states, including Texas, allow for armed security personnel on campuses, increasing the presence of non-law enforcement (law enforcement (LE)) security (guardians). This study examined the responsibilities of non-LE security in Texas schools and their communication with responding LE agencies and assessed how effectively school districts and local LE agencies collaborated in managing the shared domain problem of school safety. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative survey data from 50 school district-LE agency pairs and qualitative responses from 35–36 pairs evaluated guardian responsibilities and each entity’s expectations during and after active threat scenarios. Findings Findings revealed significant misalignments in reported responsibilities, with 53% differing on the role of non-LE security during active shooter events. These discrepancies pose risks, including mistaken identity in crises. Practical implications Policy recommendations emphasize collaborative planning, structured communication and regular revisions to security protocols. Future policies should integrate evidence-based strategies to enhance coordination and improve school security effectiveness. Originality/value This study is the first to systematically assess alignment between school districts and LE agencies regarding the roles and expectations of non-LE (guardian) security during active threat scenarios.

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights.

The recently developed probabilistic genotyping software package MaSTR™ (SoftGenetics LLC) was used to develop statistical weight estimates for a variety of two-person STR mixture profiles with differentially degraded sources of DNA. A total of 864 analyses, on 144 two-person profiles, were performed. Mixture ratios ranged from 1:1 to 1:10, including pristine sources of DNA and various combinations of artificially degraded DNA (average size fragments of 150 or 250 bps). Quantities of DNA template were varied (0.1 to 0.5 ngs of total input) and MaSTR™ analysis was performed with eight chains of 10,000 or 40,000 iterations, with or without a conditioning profile to generate likelihood ratio (LR) values. Overall, the software performed as expected. The resulting log(LR) values for pristine mixture profiles were typically greater than 1030. Lower-quality mixture data associated with sources of DNA at ~ 0.05 ngs for each contributor resulted in peak imbalance and allelic dropout which reduced the weight in support of a contributor. This was exacerbated by higher levels of degradation, with some instances resulting in log(LR) values in support of an exclusion. These studies provide additional support for the use of probabilistic genotyping software solutions in forensic investigations, addressing concerns raised by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).

Police dogs are routinely deployed during criminal investigations under a variety of circumstances. In instances where police dogs are involved in apprehension of suspects, contact with a suspect may be observed or may occur out of the line of sight. The interactions between suspect and dog may include the dog biting the suspect, or the suspect touching or exuding bodily fluids onto the dog. In either form of contact, potentially valuable DNA may be left from the suspect on the dog. This paper describes a proof-of-concept study investigating collection of human DNA from the teeth and hair of dogs. It used controlled settings, where the human DNA sources were touch and saliva, and field cases, where the human DNA sources were unknown. The results of sample analysis to identify DNA short tandem repeats (STRs) from each of these scenarios are provided. They highlight the potential and importance of collecting trace DNA from police dogs who may have had contact with suspects during attempted apprehension.

Emergent policy changes related to telemedicine and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have created opportunities for technology-based clinical evaluation, which serves to conserve personal protective equipment (PPE) and protect emergency providers. We define electronic PPE as an approach using telemedicine tools to perform electronic medical screening exams while satisfying the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. We discuss the safety, legal, and technical factors necessary for implementing such a pathway. This approach has the potential to conserve PPE and protect providers while maintaining safe standards for medical screening exams in the emergency department for low-risk patients in whom COVID-19 is suspected.

Effective emergency management and response require appropriate utilization of various resources as an incident evolves. This manuscript describes the information resources used in chemical emergency management and operations and how their utility evolves from the initial response phase to recovery to event close out. The authors address chemical hazard guidance in the context of four different phases of emergency response: preparedness, emergency response (both initial and ongoing), recovery, and mitigation. Immediately following a chemical incident, during the initial response, responders often use readily available, broad-spectrum guidance to make rapid decisions in the face of uncertainties regarding potential exposure to physical and health hazards. Physical hazards are described as the hazards caused by chemicals that can cause harm with or without direct contact. Examples of physical hazards include explosives, flammables, and gases under pressure. This first line of resources may not be chemical-specific in nature, but it can provide guidance related to isolation distances, protective actions, and the most important physical and health threats. During the ongoing response phase, an array of resources can provide detailed information on physical and health hazards related to specific chemicals of concern. Consequently, risk management and mitigation actions evolve as well. When the incident stabilizes to a recovery phase, the types of information resources that facilitate safe and effective incident management evolve. Health and physical concerns transition from acute toxicity and immediate hazards to both immediate and latent health effects. Finally, the information inputs utilized during the preparedness phase include response evaluations of past events, emergency preparedness planning, and chemical-specific guidance about chemicals present. This manuscript details a framework for identifying the effective use of information resources at each phase and provides case study examples from chemical hazard emergencies.