Tag Archives: Police

FEMA OEMA G0290: Basic #PIO at the City of Cleveland EOC!

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Outstanding start to this week’s FEMA G0290: Basic PIO course sponsored by Ohio EMA and the City of Cleveland Emergency Management!

Special thanks to CEM Alex Pellom for the invitation to hang for a few days in the Emergency Operations Center!

Guess who I get to teach with this week? Fresh off the disaster wheel, Assistant Fire Chief Steve Bosso!!!

Don’t mind his grumps face, you’d be a bit tired if you were EMACed to work Hurricane Florence too. I’m excited to hear about his experience working with South Carolina’s Emergency Management Division PIO Derrec Becker.

And yes, if you were wondering, we are holding class IN the actual City of Cleveland Emergency Operations Center!

Interviews? Heck yeah – you know we did!

Incredibly valuable time on camera.

Spent some time doing group work and communications strategy with many partners from across the State of Ohio and the State of Pennsylvania.

Showcasing partnerships and strengthening collaborative messaging during the preparedness…

…will help during response phase planning and support for ongoing operations.

Additionally the blending of resources embodying the all-hazards mentality, is critical when dealing with larger disasters/emergencies. Here’s Police, Fire, EMS, Health, Public Works, and Executive Policy working together for a coordinated message.

Steve had a few injects too…like branding. Steve is a former photojournalist so he’s got the photog eye for these kinds of things with some fancy camera work…

And not to worry, in order to share real world experiences, we had our first subject matter expert – Cleveland Police Public Information Officer Jennifer Ciaccia stop by to talk about her experiences as the PIO for CPD.

So many issues to deal with esp during a National Special Security Event (NSSE) – the 2016 Republican National Convention! And of course a whole bunch of other cases including the 3 girls missing for 10+ years (Castro case), Facebook killer, CJ Saves CLE, St. Patrick’s Day Parade, etc….

Whew – full day! Great dynamic class.

Solid first day. Looking forward to day-2 of the Basic PIO!

@rusnivek

Another #PIO #PAO quick phrase to (possibly) use for later

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Afternoon Law Enforcement leaders and LEO PIOs!

If you have employees, here’s another quick phrase you want to keep close.

“Law enforcement officers are peacekeepers whose core mission is to protect and safeguard the community.”

and

“It is our expectation is that employees do not engage in activities or associations that undermine or diminish our role as peacekeepers.”

Well done CCSO.

@rusnivek

Hi Unique you dropped your phone #PIO #SocialMedia

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Law enforcement has been in some tough situations. Most recently, social media has been credited with engaging the public.

In fact, some agencies have used social media to engage suspects who may leave items behind on a scene of a crime. Oooooo, evidence!

But this is not one of those cases.

On 07-04-18, this image was initially shared on Facebook then across various social media platforms.

The image with caption inferring that local law enforcement agency was pursuing the suspect and that the suspect dropped his/her cell phone while eluding law enforcement. Then, in order to reach out to the suspect and friends of the suspect, local law enforcement uses the suspect’s social media account to reach out and taunt.

While funny for public safety, we as trusting public safety pros need to take time to dispel rumors and verify facts. PIOs should be at the front line of this issue.

And yes, this post was actually fake. What the whut?

Here’s Chicago Police PIO Anthony Guglielmi’s response to this post gone viral.

Sooooooo, to recap:

  • The initial Facebook post was not associated to incident.
  • Image was borrowed from unrelated event.
  • LEOs were not involved in pursuit of suspect.
  • Law enforcement agencies are usually professional.
  • PIO was on it and addressed concern once information was vetted w/ 7th District.
  • Squashed viral post with real information. #truth

Well done CPD PIO!

Again, as PIOs we are the shepherds of our agency when it comes to reporting the facts and dispelling the rumors.

We as PIOs must remain vigilant and dispel rumors as soon as they appear. This is your job. The agency’s reputation is on the line so ensure the longevity and be cognizant of your agency’s image 24/7.

@rusnivek

Day-2 of the State of Ohio #Basic #PIO class #Summit

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Day-2 of the State of Ohio Basic Public Information Officers’ Course here in Summit County. And yaaassss, #OnWednesdaysWeWearPink!


Started off the morning talking about interview skills and techniques that are readily used by both PIOs and Reporters/Photojournalists.


Reviewed all oncamera interviews from all the participants in our class.


We want to prepare our new PIOs with the best training so they are capable off hitting the ground running representing their agency positively in a crisis or emergency.

Steve brought in the Team from WKYC (NBC affiliate) Akron Office to be our panel discussion.


Lots of great points including what could make or break a PIO – esp for a close tight knit community like Akron and Summit County. Special thanks to Reporter Amani Abraham and Photojournalist Carl Bachtel on their insight to news media.

PC: Bosso

I was able to get my friend Cleveland Police PIO Sgt Jennifer Ciaccia to give a dual presentation with me on the 2016 Republican National Convention and other Cleveland activities.


As a team, Jen and I are solid, but we recognize that others are needed to establish the efforts of PIOing within their own communities – no matter pre-planned event or emergency.


And yes, we addressed how PIOs need to keep current on social media trends esp on national cool campaigns…like the mannequin challenge.

Again, special thanks to Jen on the support of today’s State of Ohio Basic PIO class.

PC: Bosso

PC: Bosso

Afternoon was dedicated to the PIO TTX. We setup two groups with all participants for the in class mock press conference and they did a solid job. Both groups worked together…


…and formulated talking points….


…organized and strategically thought out a press conferences agenda…


…prepped speakers…


And of course controlled the unruly fictitious media reps from OZRadio, WTF, and the YellowBrickRoadNews. FEMA Phil and USFA Tom would be so proud of us MPIOs to see us working the press conference part of the class.

Another great day for PIO training in the State of Ohio!

@rusnivek

Enjoy your retirement CPD Benny the Bomb Dog!

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Congrats on this week’s retirement of one of my favorite bomb dogs – Cleveland Police Benny!!!!!!

Cleveland Police Bomb Dog Benny, Jen, and @rusnivek.

In thinking back, I believe I’ve worked with CPD’s Benny the Bomb Dog the longest in events and incidents.

Enjoy your retirement Benny!

@rusnivek

 

Final day of Ohio EMA’s Emergency Planning Course

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Second and final day of our Ohio EMA Emergency Planning course!

We are going to dive deep into CPG-101 and talk about how we can increase our ability to write better EOP base plans and enhance our annexes.

All four groups firing all the way as they work through challenges in formulation of SMEs for plans.

Dynamic chatter esp focusing in on American Red Cross and Emergency Management when it comes to bringing people to the table.

Dove deep into how CPG101 applies, incorporating the NRF, lots on NIMS compliance, and of course ICS requirements. Discussion also lead to a few case studies including Hurricane Jacob Cat-5 to Cat-2 hit.

Also fortunate to have key players from CERT, HAM, EM, and law enforcement at the table discussing challenges with paid vs volunteer staffing and accounting for resources.

I want to give a major shoutout to Alicen and Tim for their hospitality this week for the Ohio EMA G-235 course. Most gracious and hospitable course coordinators.

Now go forth and formulate good EOPs!

@rusnivek

Day-1 Ohio EMA Emergency Planning

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Welcome to another solid start of Ohio EMA’s G-235: Emergency Planning course!

Thank you to Ashtabula County EMA for hosting this class for participants from three different FEMA regions. Here’s Ashtabula County EMA Deputy Director Tim Settles welcoming message to all our participants.

I immediately started involving them on identifying solid planning system characteristics.

Great discussion among Fire representatives, Emergency Management, and Red Cross professionals.

Additionally, CERT and HAM radio operators’ involvement was critical in plan writing as they will be testing/using those annexes.

Team leads from the Ohio National Guard / 52nd Civil Support Unit attended and worked closely with leadership from local/county EMAs.

Outstanding first day of class!

@rusnivek

Cleveland Police FacebookLive for NICE – confiscated rifle with drum

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Got to work with Cleveland Police today on an ongoing campaign for safety within the community.

But it was such a nice day today that we decided to roll it out in front of Cleveland Police HQ. FYI-a downtown public open plaza makes it a bit more challenging to do live social media feeds.

No time for funny business because FacebookLive is…well LIVE! So no second takes, redo, or screwing around!

OK, a little screwing around.

Yes, sharing the message on FacebookLive does aggregate the video higher on Facebook users’ feed and notifications – however, the content needs to be engaging. Also, needs a teaser, and lead in, and most importantly, a hook!

The story of the arrest flowed easily and the officers were able to recount the events. Like countless police officers across this country, all are proud of the work they do within every community and continue to provide tireless service to their constituents.

Did you see Cleveland Police talking about N.I.C.E. and their apprehension?

I’ll give you a hint, it had to deal with taking guns off the street…also our hook.

N: Neighborhood

I: Impact

C: Community

E: Engagement

Well, if you missed it, you can watch the full FacebookLive video here:

I hope you enjoyed a little behind the scenes PIO views.

I’m glad to be working with a great organization to bring more safety to all residents in the community.

@rusnivek