Policy
For large-scale disturbances or events involving only the MPD, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) may be established in the police administrative offices and the Chief shall be the EOC Commander. When requested by the Incident Commander or on-scene Deputy Chief/Director, the EOC will be activated and staffed by the following personnel:
- Chief of Police
- A Deputy Chief
- Director of the Emergency Communications & Technology Bureau
- Administrative Assistant to the Chief
- MPD Legal Advisor
- MPD Public Information Officer
- Additional personnel as needed
Responsibility for recording all information coming in and directions leaving the center belongs to the Administrative Assistant to the Chief. Other staff assignments may be made as necessary for planning, logistics, finance and media relations.
Incident command models require that the on-scene incident commander retain direct control and authority over all on-scene activity. The on-scene Incident Commander shall take direction from the EOC and will report all situational developments to them. All requests for additional personnel, equipment, and support of other City departments and outside agencies shall be forwarded to the EOC.
The EOC Commander will determine the incident command structure to be used and will establish the procedures required for the following:
- Mass arrests and transportation arrangements
- Arrest processing center location and teams for staffing
- Video taping
- Intelligence gathering
- Use of weapons and force
- Mutual aid requests and liaison with the Minnesota Duty Officer
The on-scene Incident Commander, whether a Police or Fire Department commander, may elect to designate on-scene operations, logistics, planning, and finance officers for large scale or complex emergency situations. These officers shall report directly to the on-scene Incident Commander. An officer assigned at the incident scene as a staging officer will be responsible for the recording of all reporting personnel, assignments made, and the inventory of available equipment and vehicles.
Definitions
Refer to the Commonly Used Terms page for general definitions.
- Incident Commander:
The Incident Commander (IC) is the first officer or supervisor to arrive on the scene of a call for service where multiple units, scenes, or assisting agencies are dispatched. The Incident Commander has overall command of the incident, until properly relieved by a supervisor of higher rank if necessary, and will be based at the incident command post. The priorities of the Incident Commander include:
- Assess incident priorities.
- Determine strategic goals and tactical objectives, not related to the operations of SWAT or ESU personnel.
- Identify a staging area, if needed.
- Develop and implement incident action plan.
- Develop appropriate incident management structure.
- Assess resource needs.
- Coordinate overall on-scene emergency activities.
- Authorize information to be released to the media.
- Public Information Officer: Disseminates information to the public and media.
- Staging Officer: Responsible for identifying a single location or multiple locations, as needed, for resources to gather in preparation to respond to the emergency. Also keeps track of the availability of various resources for the incident.