Page 39 - TPA Journal May - June 2018

quantity. It is essential for your incident com-
mand structure to include a Regional Medical
Operations Center (RMOC) as a branch within
its Operations Section. RMOC Directors, such
as Steve Epley in San Antonio, are a wealth of
information and capabilities when knowledge of
available medical assets during an emergency are
critical. Prearranged contracts for supplies, com-
modities, and assets must be in place well in
advance of major emergencies of any type, some-
thing we learned and greatly benefitted from in
San Antonio.
Summary Technical AssistanceAttorney
General Ken Paxtons opinion #KP-0185,
issued March 19, 2018, states Texas
Occupations Code Statute 1701.655(b)(5)
requires a law enforcement agency which
receives a grant for or otherwise operates a
body-worn camera program to establish poli-
cy that guarantees access to recordings of
incidents involving an officer to that officer
prior to making any type of statement, oral or
written, about that incident. Furthermore, said est in good emergency management and an
policy must clarify the officer s right to
choose which recording or recordings of an
incident involving the officer to access before terror attack is coming our way soon and the time
making a statement about the incident. Since
the first body-worn camera was issued to a
Texas peace officer there have been questions
regarding officers access to recordings of
incidents involving them. Recently there have
been attempts by special interest groups to
interfere with this right and the AG opinion
discussed in this column should clarify the
rights of all peace officers to access any form
of recorded information available before issu-
ing a statement and the responsibilities of
their agencies to insure those rights are pro-
tected. During a response event, the SNS
Program Technical Advisory Unit (TARU)
March/April 2018 www.texaspoliceassociation.com • 866-997-8282
provides on-site support to state or local
authorized personnel on receiving, staging,
storing, dispensing, replenishing, and recov-
ering SNS assets. The TARU consist of pub-
lic health experts, logisticians, and emergency
response specialists who manage the transfer
of assets to authorized state representatives
and provide technical assistance throughout
the event. TARU coordinate continuous con-
tact between local incident commanders and
the Department of SNS at the Center for
Disease Control.
Needless to say, there are many things to consid-
er when developing good emergency operations
plans for a chemical, biological, or nerve agent
attack, but knowing which state disaster district
you belong to, how to communicate with your
DDC, what an SNS push package is and how to
acquire one, what a CEMC is and how to prepare
them for activation, and whats needed in terms
of pre-planning assets for upcoming disasters is a
great place to start. The information included in
this brief article is meant to jump-start your inter-
understanding of where you and your jurisdiction
are in terms of preparation today. This type of
for action is now, beginning with education on
how to be ready when the wolf knocks at our
door. Until next month, watch your 6 and that of
your teammates.
Your brother in arms,
Cris Andersen, Director
Law Enforcement Division
United States Law Shield
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