Applying the terror management theory to active shooter events: Explaining the police response

Abstract

After the active shooting incident in Columbine, Colorado, the police response to these events changed. Rather than have the first responding officers secure the perimeter and wait for a special weapons and tactics team, police officers have been trained to move quickly to engage and neutralize a shooter. The expectation is that an officer will prioritize the lives of victims over their own. This approach is contrary to the police culture of surviving dangerous encounters. This article presents a discussion of terror management theory as a possible explanation for why some officers may fail to perform according to contemporary expectations, and why some officers may willingly place themselves in positions in which their lives are threatened. This examination is followed by a discussion of policy and research implications.

Active shooter incidents: training, safety, culture and officers’ support for prioritizing victims’ lives above their own

“…topics, duration and frequency) impact their knowledge, skills, feelings of preparedness and especially action when faced with active PIJPSM 47,4 shooters. In addition, it has been argued that an officer's military experience, specifically where they had been exposed to active deadly engagement with an adversary, provide them with coping mechanisms and an improved ability to deal with an active shooter (Phillips, 2023). Having a measure of this type of experience may be illuminating for understanding how an officer views their response to an active shooter event.…”

Commitment to and connection with green brands: perspectives of consumer social responsibility and terror management theory

“…That is, the consciousness of one’s own death is emotionally manifested in anxiety and paralyzing terror, compelling us to take cognitive and behavioral actions to symbolically protect ourselves. All creatures engage in actions that are directed toward self-preservation, though humans are the only creature that are uniquely aware of the psychological threat of death (Phillips, 2023).…”