The City of Providence is hiring an independent consulting firm to review the city’s response to the Brown University shooting.
Mayor Brett Smiley said the purpose of the review, which he said will likely take months to complete, is to ensure the city learns important lessons that can be applied to future emergencies.
“I look forward to the full and complete report, which will be shared with the community when that’s done,” Smiley told Ocean State Media’s Ian Donnis. “That’s going to be in-depth.”
After an initial study, Smiley said he’s satisfied with the way Providence police and fire personnel responded to the shooting.
“The (response) within that first hour was excellent,” Smiley said. “You couldn’t do better.”
In a letter sent Tuesday to the Providence Emergency Management Agency, Smiley included a timeline of the city’s initial response to the shooting. The emergency dispatch center sent out police and fire resources “approximately 1 minute 22 seconds after (it received the) first call,” according to the timeline. Police were on the scene roughly 4 minutes later.
All 11 victims of the shooting were on their way to Rhode Island Hospital within 18 minutes, according to the timeline.
Smiley said the city will determine whether there is a more effective way to notify community members following a major incident. He has been criticized in recent weeks for choosing not to send out cell phone alerts, like those pushed to phones for an Amber Alert in a suspected child abduction case, following the Brown shooting.
Smiley said those alerts can give away one’s hiding place in an active shooting situation.
“Is there something in between that might better notify the community but that doesn’t endanger anybody?” Smiley asked. “That’s what we’re exploring right now and exploring what other options might be available to us.”
