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Table-Top Scenario Examples
This resource provides seven sample table-top scenarios for First-Line Supervisors (FLSs). Agency trainers may use them to supplement existing in-service training programs or as templates for designing new curriculum. Subject Matter Experts (SME) from PERF developed each scenario to challenge the decision-making abilities of both new and veteran FLSs. When conducting table-top scenario exercises, agency trainers must act as facilitators who guide the participants through each scenario by presenting the situation in stages, then asking tough, thought-provoking questions at each stage about how the FLSs will respond. After gathering the responses, the facilitator should offer alternate viewpoints for the FLSs to consider before moving to the next stage of the event. The overall role of the facilitator is to generate thoughtful discussion throughout the entire scenario based upon the decisions and overall performance of the participating FLSs. The following scenarios are included in this resource:
- Officer-Involved Shooting Incident
- Escalating Domestic Violence
- Mentally Ill Man on Roof
- Unexpected Protest/Civil Unrest
- Chemical/Hazmat Spill
- Domestic Violence Incident Involving a Police Officer
- Active Shooter Event The first scenario, titled “Officer-Involved Shooting Incident,” provides more details and discussion points which are not present in the other scenarios. The additional information was included to provide agency trainers a template for generating and guiding effective discussion during table-top scenario exercises. Subsequent scenarios do not have all of the detailed information and prompts. Agency trainers should add these, based on th model used in the first scenario. All of the sample scenarios are self-sufficient and ready for implementation into any agency training program. However, these scenarios purposely leave open alternative possibilities and variables for each situation. Agency trainers are encouraged to edit or expand upon these scenarios to make them more relevant to their respective agencies, communities, laws, policies, and training objectives. For example, Scenario 2 contains no mention of specific streets or directional compass. Trainers that wish to create a training objective that challenges the FLSs on their knowledge of directional bearings should use information from their own community to fill in those types of details. Trainers may also change the number of personnel, locations, descriptions, and fact patterns to customize training objectives for each scenario.
Officer-Involved Shooting Incident Facilitator : You are working as a supervisor on the afternoon shift (1600hrs- 000 0hrs). It is approximately 9:30 p.m. when you hear on the radio, “Shots fired, shots fired!” The rest of the transmission is garbled, but you recognize the voice as an officer assigned to your squad and working in your area this evening. The officer is part of a two-officer car. A moment later you hear another garbled transmission “...running!” The radio immediately goes silent. You do not know where the officers are located. FLS Response : First actions:
1. Get on Channel 1 (main channel) and ask for their location. a. Issues: _i. The transmission will use up valuable air-time on the radio. ii. The involved officers may be attempting to transmit at the same time. iii. The officers may believe dispatch or other officers in the area are receiving their radio transmissions, but in reality, you may have talked over them.
- While monitoring Channel 1 , switch to another radio channel and ask the other dispatcher to_ locate the officers’ cruiser using GPS. (This is the preferred action but talking through the options is the point of the exercise.) a. Issues: i. You may miss important radio traffic if you fail to monitor Channel 1 _properly while on another channel.
- Call dispatch on the phone. This may also be the preferred action for agencies with only one_ (1) radio frequency. a. Issues: i. You may miss important radio traffic if you fail to monitor Channel 1 _properly while on the phone. Responses for agencies without GPS or multiple radio frequencies:
- Dispatch officer(s) in the direction of their last know location.
- Initiate a grid search if not located at last known location.
- Keep all radio transmissions on Channel 1 to an absolute minimum._
3. The identity and description of the fleeing subject, whether or not this person is wanted for a crime, are they considered armed and dangerous, and the likelihood they may return to the scene. Best response : Respond to the scene with additional officers and secure the subjects. Establish a perimeter to watch for the outstanding suspect and provide scene security. Determine the involvement of the fleeing suspect and the other individuals on scene. Facilitator : You inform the involved officers that you are responding to their location and inquire about the best approach to the scene. They provide the following information: “Enter Scott Street from the south and proceed northbound to our location. Our cruiser is facing southbound and we are using it for cover. The suspect vehicle containing the three occupants is in front of our cruiser facing north. There is one person ‘proned out’ in the middle of the street between our cruiser and the suspect vehicle.” You arrive at the south entrance to Scott Street and proceed northbound towards the location of the officers. You are the fifth unit to arrive on Scott Street. As you reach the scene, you find yourself positioned behind the suspect vehicle and two other police cruisers that arrived before you. Like you, these two cruisers proceeded north on Scott Street to the scene. However, two other cruisers responded to the north entrance of Scott Street and approached the scene southbound, pulling up behind the involved officers’ cruiser. The arriving cruisers are all facing each other and now surround the suspect vehicle and the involved officers’ cruiser. All of the officers are out of their vehicles, pointing their guns at the occupants of the vehicle and the subject on the ground. These subjects have all complied with the officers’ orders and have not moved. The two officers who initiated the stop have taken a position on the west side of Scott Street, using their cruiser as cover. What now? FLS Response _: Ideal Sergeant Response:
- How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. a. Take charge, announce your presence, and ascertain what resources are currently on- scene. b. Identify immediate threats to officer safety. i. Identify the location of all the officers and adjust them if necessary to avoid cross-fire. ii. Identify the location of all known subjects. iii. Gather information from the officers concerning any known immediate threats posed by the occupants of the vehicle, the subject laying in the roadway, and the subject who fled the scene._
c. Determine if more resources are needed at your location. i. Do you have enough resources to safely secure all four subjects at this scene? ii. Should you now direct other responding resources to search for the subject that fled? d. Make a brief radio transmission notifying other responding officers as to where the fleeing suspect was last observed and the direction of travel. e. Organize the following tasks: i. Secure the subject in the street and take him/her into custody. ii. Secure the occupants of the vehicle and take them into custody. iii. Establish a perimeter or multiple perimeters (inner/outer) for the crime scene/search area. Facilitator : You and your officers successfully take the three occupants of the suspect vehicle into custody. They are all unarmed. The subject lying in the street is also placed into custody. A fully loaded, .45 caliber semi- automatic handgun is discovered in the front waistband of the subject’s pants. The fleeing suspect remains at large. After securing all four subjects still on scene, and securing the seized weapon, you now have an opportunity to speak directly with the involved officers. What do you ask them? What should you not ask them? FLS Response : Ask:
_1. Are you ok?
- Is anyone injured? Does anyone need immediate medical attention?_ a. This includes officers, suspects, involved individuals, innocent bystanders. b. Is the scene safe enough for medical to respond directly to that location or should _they stage nearby?
- Public safety questions_ a. Who fired their weapons? (Facilitator Note: the weapon seized on-scene is still fully loaded and was not fired.) b. How many rounds were fired? c. In what direction were the rounds fired?
Do you need more officers or resources? If so, why? Discuss other options and available resources that might assist you. (Facilitator note: consider asking FLSs to identify, from memory, what resources their agencies possess, the appropriateness of each resource, and the availability of those resources on any given shift. They should be considering resources like bicycle and motor officers, K-9, Air Support, lethal and less-lethal options, and specialized units such as SWAT if applicable to their agency.) Facilitator : You and your team enter the driveway and make your way towards the backyard. An officer notices a blood trail on the driveway. When you enter the yard, the team observes discarded articles of clothing with blood on them just behind the corner of the house. You check all around the residence, including other possible hiding locations such as sheds, etc. You then decide to conduct a protective sweep of the residence at 58 Scott Street to make sure the suspect was not inside. (Under these circumstances, you have probable cause to search the residence.) After searching the premises, you determine the suspect was not inside. (Sample scenario extension: The facilitator may choose to extend this scenario by having the FLSs articulate the justifications for searching the residence and, using the available resources, how that search will be conducted.) What are the next actions you should take? FLS Response : (not in any particular order)
_1. Expand the perimeter.
- Secure the involved officers.
- Delegate responsibilities to other supervisors/lead officers:_ a. Crime scene b. Care of the involved officers _c. Decide on organizing a larger search team -- Do you have enough resources?
- Ensure the security of the crime scene.
- Establish a command post.
- Contact the public information office – request support if the news media begins to arrive.
- Be prepared to brief investigators._
Domestic Violence Escalation Scenario Facilitator : While monitoring the radio in your cruiser, you hear two patrol units dispatched to a residential street in your area for a possible domestic violence call. You know that both dispatched patrol units are single- officer cruisers. The dispatcher states the reporting person is a neighbor who observed the young couple living across the street arrive home and park in the driveway. The husband immediately got out of the vehicle and began screaming and yelling obscenities. The husband then opened the passenger’s door, grabbed his wife by her hair and pulled her out of the vehicle, throwing her to the ground. The wife was crying and was kicking at the husband, screaming for him to “Stop!” The husband continued to yell at her, then punched her 2 - 3 times in the face. As the neighbor went outside to intervene, the husband picked his wife up off the ground by her hair and pulled her into the house. The reporting person remained outside and from their own front yard can hear yelling and what sounds like “things breaking” from inside the couple’s house across the street. What actions, if any, do you take at this time? FLS Response : First actions:
1. Possible answers: a. Continue monitoring the radio, but only if your agency normally handles these situations using two officers. b. Respond to assist the two officers. c. Respond and send additional units to assist. d. Ask dispatch to keep the reporting person on the phone for updates or call them back if needed. Facilitator: Scenario update: Dispatch has kept the reporting person on the phone. They tell the dispatcher they just heard several loud “pops” from inside the residence. They believe these “pops” were gunshots and the caller has now run inside to hide. How does this change your response? Scenario update: As the first two officers arrive on scene, they report a female running out of the front door of the house. She is covered in blood and collapses in the street approximately 30 feet in front of their cruisers. You are approximately 30 seconds out and arrive on the scene just as the officers finish providing the update. Both officers have parked their cruisers one house away and across the street from the residence in question. You observe your officers are out of their cruisers, guns drawn, and appear to be contemplating trying to secure the female in the roadway. Identify the issues and articulate any additional changes in the police response based on these facts.
Mentally Ill Man on Roof Facilitator : You are just starting your tour of duty. As you turn on the radio, you hear an officer verifying an address with the dispatcher. The address is in your area of responsibility but you did not hear the initial dispatch to that location. You then hear this same officer request the assignment of an additional patrol unit to the response. After waiting for the additional unit to be assigned, you inquire with the dispatcher about the details of the call. They inform you that three patrol units are responding to West Main Street for a mental health medical call, but that it may also be a domestic assault and battery. A father is reporting his middle-aged son has mental health issues and is currently suffering a mental health crisis. The son “attacked” the father, punching and kicking him, when he tried to take him to the hospital. The father is stating that he wants his son arrested. He is leaving the residence right now and will meet the officers at the end of the street. (Consider Step 3 of the Critical Decision-Making Model: Law and Your Police Powers. There is a legal reason to be here and police are compelled to take some action.) What are your initial thoughts based on the information? FLS Response :
- Possible answers: a. Respond to assist the officers. i. Why did one officer request an additional unit? ii. Is the address or persons known to the officer or your agency? b. Respond and send additional units to assist if needed. c. Ask dispatch to keep the reporting person on the phone for updates or call them back if needed. Scenario Update: When the officers arrive, they meet with the father, mother, and sister of the adult subject. It is determined that only the father was assaulted, but they all left the residence because they were afraid he would continue to be violent. The family explains the subject has a long history of mental illness and has been refusing to take his medications for over a week. The father states this has been an ongoing problem for many years, and he wants his son arrested for hitting him. They do not believe he has access to any guns or other weapons. The family has no immediate place to go while the police handle the situation. The subject was last observed in his room on the second floor, but the family is not sure where he is now. You now arrive at the corner of the street with your officers. What is your plan?
Scenario Update: You and the officers respond to the residence. As you reach the house, you and the officers observe an adult male sitting on the roof. The male begins ripping up the shingles from the roof and throwing them down at the officers. The subject is verbally engaging the officers, taunting them to “come and get him” off the roof. There is a ladder leaning on the side of the house from the driveway to the roof. You observe two of your officers walking into the driveway towards the ladder. What actions should you take at this time? FLS Response :
_1. Call the two officers back to you at the front of the house. Do not allow them to use the ladder.
- Create distance around the house and set a perimeter.
- Stage medical aid.
- Slow the initial response down.
- Recognize this is a barricaded subject on a roof.
- Call for on-duty Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT)._
- Establish a command post. (Facilitator Note: It is imperative for the on-scene FLS of this incident to prevent officers from closing the distance and forcing a confrontation with the subject. The use of time and distance as a tactic provides more opportunity for additional resources to arrive and helps maintain the safety of everyone on scene. The officers should recognize they are not in any danger if they position themselves outside of the subject’s throwing range. This is clearly a subject in mental crisis. If there is no immediate threat of harm to the officers, it is appropriate to provide him the time needed to move past this moment of mental crisis and return to a better state of mind if possible. When dealing with people in mental crisis, who only pose a danger to themselves, successfully using time and distance as a tactic yields a better and safer outcome for everyone on scene. When officers force a confrontation with a person in mental crisis, the risk of harm to the officers and the subject increase. Two of the officers appeared as though they intended to go up on the roof. This plan of action could have disastrous results, as the suspect and the officers might end up falling to the ground. An FLS, or any field supervisor, must take immediate action to prevent officers from acting independently during a crisis incident. Officers and supervisors must understand that this subject may jump off the roof whether officers are on the roof with him or not. It is better for the officers and the agency if the subject decides to jump for their own reasons and not because the police came onto the roof and were closing in on him.
Unexpected Protest/Civil Unrest Facilitator : You are working as a field supervisor on the afternoon shift (1600hrs-0000hrs) with the normal deployment of officers in your area. This consists of one (1) Watch Commander, four (4) field supervisors and twenty ( 20 ) patrol officers. Your dispatch center begins receiving several phone calls from the downtown business area concerning a group of approximately 50 - 100 people gathering at one of the largest downtown intersections in your community. The people are waiving signs, blocking traffic and yelling about an officer-involved shooting that occurred in another jurisdiction. The field supervisor assigned to that section of the downtown area acknowledges the radio broadcast and requests all of the available officers assigned to that area to respond. The responding supervisor is new and previously spent the last five years as a patrol officer in an administrative assignment before their promotion three weeks ago. Dispatch informs the supervisor they only have two officers assigned to that area that can respond, but that they expect two other officers to be clear from another call soon. The supervisor states, “We will just handle it with what we have.” The first officer arrives on scene and reports the group has swelled to at least 200 - 300 people. The group has now gathered in the middle of the intersection, blocking the travel lanes in all directions. The officer then reports the group has begun to march out of the intersection travelling north on Main Street. There is a local highway approximately ¼ of a mile away in that direction. The officer asks the supervisor, “Should I stop them before they can enter the highway?” The new supervisor comes on the radio and advises the single officer to stop the 200 - 300 protesters. As the more experienced FLS on duty, what actions might you consider? (Facilitator Note: The point of the final sentence is to teach supervisors they may occasionally need to intervene, or “step on the toes of,” other supervisors. The patrol officer in this scenario may believe the agency expects him/her to stop that group or else they would not have asked the question. However, veteran officers and supervisors know it is very unlikely one officer can safely stop 200 - 300 protesters. The expectation here is for you, the experienced FLS, to intervene for the safety of everyone and advise the officer not to try to stop all those protesters alone. Then assign the next available unit to provide a traffic assistance in case the protesters attempt to access the highway. The priority at this point is to make sure they are not injured or cause injury to others. After securing the highway, the FLSs need to refer to their agency policies and procedures on responding to protests and civil unrest. Lastly, it is important for newer FLSs to understand they are learning a new job and will make mistakes. You can always call the new supervisor on the phone or ask to meet with them privately to explain your actions if necessary. In the end, it is about getting the call right, not who made the right call.) The FLS who took charge should :
- Call for as many units as possible while still keeping enough to service the rest of the city.
- If possible, have a plain-clothes or unmarked unit monitor the protesters. This can allow the uniformed and marked units to remain at a distance and not incite the group.
- Stage uniformed officers together in an area that is removed from the protest and prepare them to respond as a unit.
- Go to the staging area and conduct a quick briefing and safety check for proper gear with the officers.
- Establish a location for a command post if the protest becomes extended in duration.
- Stage EMS and medical aid assets.
- If available to your agency, request additional resources such as Air support/ Drone support and outside agency support. If called, ensure the outside agencies are provided the staging location and specific directions on your agency’s expectations.
- Contact Intelligence/Detective units to monitor social media to determine the direction of the protest – what are they planning on doing and if there are any counter protests moving in.
- Follow local rules for protests/civil unrest.
- If the protesters remain peaceful, they should be allowed to walk in the street. The police should try to protect the protesters from traffic hazards and other issues.
- Stage marked patrol units in a position to create a traffic-break on both sides of the nearby local highway. If the protesters appear intent on blocking it, it will be safer to roll the traffic to a stop and let them block the road temporarily until they leave or can be safely removed by law enforcement. Local laws and protocols will dictate the response to this situation.
- If the protesters start to riot, the police should be ready to step in. The police should stop _looting, rioting, burning, etc., but should allow peaceful protest.
- Set up a place for the news media and notify your agency Public Information Officer (PIO)._
Issues: (Not in order – FLSs should prioritize and consider additional issues not listed)
_1. Identify immediate safety risks. Properly implement protocols for a potential HAZMAT situation.
- Prevent harm to the other responding officers/stopped motorists.
- Officer rescue.
- Truck driver/passenger rescue.
- Check the person on the sidewalk.
- Determine the dangers of the unknown liquid leaking from under the trailer. Is it the cargo or_ fuel from the cab? a. Did either of these cause the officer/others to collapse? b. How likely is it that the truck struck something else that is causing the danger? (Not very _likely in this location.)
- Prevent all vehicle and pedestrian traffic from entering the area.
- Evacuation of the surrounding area.
- Set up a command post.
- Turn the situation over to Fire/EMS or a higher authority in HAZMAT.
- Activate the Public Information Officer (PIO) to work with the news media and announce the_ Hazmat area to the community via media/social media.
Agency Member Domestic Violence Allegation Facilitator : You are a supervisor on the overnight shift (0000hrs to 0800hrs). At approximately 1:00 a.m., two officers are dispatched to a home in a residential neighborhood to meet with a female involved in a domestic dispute. The dispatcher states the female has left her residence and went to a friend’s house two blocks away where she will meet the officers. The dispatcher does not reveal any additional details about the incident and instructs the responding officers to check their in-car computers or call dispatch for more information. What are your thoughts? Scenario Update: You immediately take notice of the dispatcher’s request and pull up the call on your own computer. The information reveals the complainant is married to an officer employed by your agency and is alleging that they were involved in a physical altercation this evening. (Facilitator Note: If no in-car computers are present in the agency, use an appropriate alternate method such as calling the dispatcher). FLS Response :
1. Should you respond to this call with the officers? _a. Yes, a supervisor should respond.
- Should the sergeant meet with the officers prior to the call? Why?_ a. Yes. If the female is no longer in immediate danger, advise the officers to meet with you _before responding to see the complainant. When meeting with the officers, the FLS should:
- Inform the officers that they are responding to a situation involving an agency member and their spouse. Some of the officers may not know the involved officer or recognize the names provided. a. Do any of the responding officers have a close personal relationship with the involved officer? b. Would you have any concerns about that or not?
- Order all responding officers to start their body-worn cameras (if applicable) prior to arrival and keep them on throughout the contact with any potential victims. a. This will minimize any potential allegations that you or the responding officers “coached or coaxed” the spouse into changing or recanting their account of the event.
- Advise the officers to conduct interviews in your presence, if possible._
_6. Have the officers watch the house and stop the suspect if he leaves the house.
- Identify roles and responsibilities if the suspect does leave. (Contact/cover/less lethal/etc.)
- Determine the location of the crime scene. If it is other than at the house, send officers to secure_ _it.
- If there is reason to believe the suspect is still at the house, make a determination to approach or_ not. a. Considerations for the husband: i. He takes the kids hostage and barricades everyone in the residence. ii. He takes his own life. iii. He fights/shoots it out with the responding officers. iv. He comes outside peacefully. (Ensure a team is ready to receive him.) b. Possibilities: i. Find the victim a place to stay and wait until the morning to contact the suspect. ii. Call the suspect on his phone and ask him to come outside and meet you. iii. Turn the situation over to detectives. iv. All of the above decisions may require approval from superior officers or administrators. This case involves an officer within your department and has criminal and administrative implications.
Active Shooter Event (Facilitator Note: The intent of this scenario was to create a very challenging situation for the participating FLSs to navigate. The training objective for this scenario is to overwhelm the available resources and personal decision-making capabilities of the FLSs. There may be no clear-cut, “correct” answers for some of the challenges. Therefore, there is no expectation for the FLSs to correctly address every variable that is presented. Instead, this scenario provides a learning experience for FLSs to help them identify individual strengths and weaknesses that will help them perform better when facing difficult and extremely challenging situations. Discussion topics can involve the importance of staying calm during a major crisis, walking through the steps of the Critical Decision-making Model (CDM), and reviewing the availability of their agency’s immediate and extended resources. Agency trainers need to be mindful that delivering the contents of this scenario in the proper manner may be difficult for less-experienced facilitators. They should ensure the selected facilitator is comfortable with guiding participants through the scenario before commencing with the exercise.) Facilitator : It is a Saturday evening in mid-December, and you are assigned to supervise a patrol area that contains several large retailers and the area’s only shopping mall. Due to the holiday season, other supervisors in your work group have taken the day off and you are covering other areas in addition to your own. At approximately 7:00 p.m., dispatch receives a report of a shooting in the parking lot of the local mall. You listen as the dispatcher begins sending several units to that location. The dispatcher also requests that you respond. You are about to acknowledge the call on the radio when the dispatcher quickly comes on again and states, “Responding units, we are receiving multiple calls that a subject has shot several people in the parking lot with a semi-automatic assault rifle and is now shooting towards the mall entrance near the Food Court.” You are aware the Food Court is located in the northeast corner of the mall and that you are the closest supervisor available to assist. It will be approximately 5 - 7 minutes for you to reach the mall from your current location and approximately 10 - 12 minutes before other supervisors are in a position to assist you. As you are responding, the dispatcher states, “The subject is a large white male wearing camouflage pants and a black top. He has on a blue backpack and has a large black duffel bag strapped over his shoulder. The subject is still actively firing the weapon and just entered the mall near the Food Court. We have multiple callers asking for medical help, stating there are numerous people wounded and dead in the parking lot and also on the walkway leading to the mall entrance.” You attempt to quickly assess the information and use the radio to coordinate the response. However, you are prevented from broadcasting by the dispatcher, who states, “We have another caller stating the subject has removed the blue backpack and left it at the entrance as he entered the mall. The subject is now inside the mall.” What are your thoughts on the response to this point?
