7-912 - Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Summary: Defines response protocols for incidents involving weapons of mass destruction.
Effective Date: 01-01-2026
Revision Type: PRH Implementation, Terms Update
Policy Change Notice: SO26-001.02 SO26-001.04 SO26-001.05 SO26-001.06 SO26-001.07 SO26-001.09
See other versions

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to outline the necessary awareness of the possible presence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or WMD Threat during any emergency. WMDs can include Chemical Weapons, Biological Weapons, Radiological Weapons, Explosive/Incendiary Weapons, and nuclear materials.

Policy

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) pose a great threat to first responders and requires a unique and extraordinary police response. Often times, officers may not know that they are responding to such an incident when dispatched. Members should be aware of signs and symptoms of any victims and should be mindful that any emergency could involve a weapon of mass destruction, particularly unknown trouble, explosions or medical emergencies. It is imperative that the responding member solicit as much information as possible from MECC and/or victims and witnesses in order to properly ascertain whether the call may involve WMD materials.

Definitions

Refer to the Commonly Used Terms page for general definitions.

Biological Weapons: Items or devices containing disease-causing microorganisms or toxins derived from or produced by living organisms.
Chemical Weapons:
Items or devices containing toxic chemicals designed to kill victims by attacking systems of the human body.

Chemical agents include:
- Nerve Agents
- Blood Agents
- Choking Agents
- Blister Agents
Explosive/Incendiary Weapons: Items or devices that contain explosive or incendiary material and are designed to inflict injury and property damage.
MECC: Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center is the city's 911 center that answers emergency and non-emergency calls and coordinates the appropriate response by public safety services.
Radiological Weapons: Items or devices that contain and emit radiation, causing immediate and long-term human tissue damage and health effects.
Weapons of Mass Destruction: Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) are any destructive items/devices that incorporate explosives, toxic chemicals, biological materials, radiological materials, or nuclear materials, and are designed to inflict mass casualties and destruction of human life and/or property.
WMD Threat: Any threat received whether verbal, non-verbal, or written that indicates the potential use of chemical, biological, radiological, explosive/incendiary or nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

7-911 - Multi-Jurisdictional Radio Channels

7-912.01 - Weapons of Mass Destruction – Initial Response

Document History:

Title	Effective Date	Revision Type	Download
7-912 - Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)	01-01-2026	PRH Implementation, Terms Update	download PDF
7-912 - Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)	11-27-2002	Terms Update PRH Implementation	download PDF

Revision Types and Descriptions

New: Policy had been added.
Combined: Two or more policies were merged.
Definitions Update: A glossary definition was updated.
Terms Update: A term, not necessarily tied to the glossary, was updated in the Manual.
Edited - Major: Significant content or procedural changes.
Edited - Minor: Small edits, clarifications, or formatting changes.

Renamed: Policy title changed.
Renumbered: Policy number was changed.
Split: Single policy was divided into multiple.
Eliminated: Policy was removed and is no longer in effect.
PRH Implementation: Edits for the Policy and Resource Hub; no content changes.