This Rules/Policy document is provided to you and your organization as a starting point or maturity checkpoint for existing rules/policies. It is brought to you on behalf of Jim McConnell, Principal Owner, and Ask McConnell, LLC — A Converged Security Services Provider. The content is not meant to cover every circumstance, industry, law, regulation, contractual requirement, threat, environment, or risk, but it provides an easy, defendable, highly accountable starting point for any organization. Please consult with your legal counsel and insurance provider about added requirements. If you know of peers that you think would find value in these resources, please have them contact us. These will be updated on our website regularly. We are not legally protecting these documents; we just ask for credit, shout-outs, and referrals if you find them helpful. If you have recommended updates, we are all ears. And if you need Converged Security Consulting and Training, please reach out, we would be honored to serve you and your organization.
Jim McConnell | info@askmcconnell.com | askmcconnell.com
Active Assailant Response Policy
Updated: 20 June 2026
Key Definitions:
Active Assailant — An incident involving one or more individuals who are attacking or threatening to attack people or an area where people are present, with any type of weapon including their own person.
Active Shooter — An Active Assailant incident involving one or more individuals who are attacking or threatening to attack people or an area where people are present, specifically with a firearm.
Scope: These rules apply to all personnel. Additional requirements apply to those in senior leadership and security roles, whether the incident occurs onsite, at an organization-sponsored event offsite, or during travel on organization business.
Requirements:
- I will focus on my personal safety and security first in any response.
- If safe to do so, I will call 911 immediately upon detecting an active assailant or active shooter incident.
- I will decide in advance whether my personal response will follow “Run-Hide-Fight,” “Avoid-Deny-Defend,” or ALICE. I understand this decision should be made before an incident occurs, not during one.
- I will not use a personal weapon if prohibited by other organizational policies, unless specifically authorized in writing by leadership.
- I will respect the authority of and follow the instructions of law enforcement, first responders, and organizational leadership once the incident is deemed safe.
If I am in an executive leadership role:
- I will ensure all organizational personnel receive quality, face-to-face training from professional trainers on “Run-Hide-Fight,” “Avoid-Deny-Defend,” or ALICE.
If I am in a security role:
- I will support the full incident lifecycle — from prevention and detection through response, investigation, and after-action review.
- I will provide or manage the professional training of all organizational personnel on “Run-Hide-Fight,” “Avoid-Deny-Defend,” or ALICE.
Organizational Decision: Will your organization allow any personnel — or only designated security personnel — to “Fight” or “Defend” using a weapon even if a no-weapons policy is otherwise in effect? If yes, this policy may require additional authorization requirements.
Related Resources
Signature Note: I am a huge fan of wet signatures on these types of documents for accountability and investigation reasons. You can add the signature lines below to each rule/policy document, or have a collective wet signature with references in the Security Commitment Agreement document available on the One-Pager library page. Organizational preference.
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