Congresswoman: Airport employees had little training what to do in shooting incident

By Larry Barszewski
Sun Sentinel

AUGUST 30, 2017, 1:40 PM

Better airport employee training, an improved communication and command structure, and the creation of an airport operation center would have improved the response to the Fort Lauderdale airport shootings in January, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Wednesday.

Wasserman Schultz held her third roundtable with airport and law enforcement officials concerning the shooting incident at her Sunrise office to review reports evaluating how the various agencies, workers and officials responded to the emergency.

Among the report highlights that stuck out to her was the need for training and for a review of the “run-hide-fight” policy recommended in emergencies for Transportation Security Administration employees as well as other airport personnel. She was skeptical of having airport employees following a run-hide-fight policy that recommends in an emergency running first, hiding second and fighting third.

“The traveling public has a different expectation of what airport employees, whether they’re airline employees or security employees, are going to be doing and what’s expected of them,” Wasserman Shultz said. “Frankly, run-hide-fight is, in my mind, not the best way to ensure that we keep people the most safe and that we’re able to protect and get to safety the most individuals in a well-coordinated and organized way.”

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