Critical incidents and emergency operations
Incident command, active threats, officer-down care, hazardous materials, mass-casualty triage, perimeters and evacuation, terrorism, mutual aid under Act VII and media relations, with the San Andreas offenses that arise at each.
Required for Class A Class B Class C Class E Class F
The exam draws 30 questions from a bank of 58. You have 45 minutes, and you need 80% to pass. Questions apply the law to situations. To prepare, read this guide alongside the cited sections of the San Andreas codes, the 2026 Law Enforcement Reform Package and the federal authorities below. The U.S. Constitution binds every San Andreas officer. Supreme Court decisions are binding; federal circuit decisions are accepted authority, and where circuits differ the academy teaches the rule that protects rights more.
Most critical incidents are decided in the first minutes, and the first officer to arrive is in command until someone more qualified formally takes over. That officer does four things before anything else: sizes up the scene (what happened, what is still happening, what hazards exist, how many people are hurt, where the safe approach is), gives dispatch a short initial report, establishes command by announcing a location and a name for the incident, and requests the resources the scene needs. Asking early is never a mistake; units can always be turned around. Rushing into a rescue before the scene has been read is how a single victim becomes several, because the hazard that injured the first person, whether gunfire, fuel, gas or traffic, is usually still there. Professional practice is general on timing: report as soon as you can do it safely, and keep updating as facts change. Dispatch labels reflect what callers said; prepare for the risk the call describes, then act on what you find.
The incident command system (ICS) is a common structure every agency can plug into. One incident commander sets objectives and is responsible for the whole scene. Unity of command means each responder reports to one supervisor. Span of control means each supervisor directs only as many people or units as they can manage effectively; when a commander has thirty officers calling directly on the radio, the fix is to group them under supervisors by area or task, not to talk faster. Arriving units without an assignment go to a staging area chosen by command and wait to be assigned, rather than self-deploying to the spot that looks busiest. Command transfers by a face-to-face (or clear radio) briefing on the situation, actions taken and resources on scene, followed by an announcement of the change. Rank does not transfer command automatically; the arriving supervisor must actually assume it. Large incidents add sections for operations, planning, logistics and finance, and a single incident action plan states the objectives everyone works toward.
When several agencies each have legal or functional responsibility, as when Del Perro PD, fire and EMS and LSCSO all answer a gas explosion, ICS uses unified command: the responsible agencies jointly set one set of objectives and one plan from one command post, while each keeps authority over its own personnel. Unified command is not a merger and does not make the largest agency the boss of everyone. Under Act VII §7.07 the agency with primary responsibility for the incident ordinarily retains incident command unless law or agreement provides otherwise; assisting officers work inside that command structure, and their own agency keeps responsibility for their employment and administrative supervision. At a fire or hazardous materials scene the fire department’s incident commander directs the fire operation, and refusing that commander’s lawful order to evacuate or clear the scene is an offense (SAPC §28.32). Police commonly hold perimeter, traffic, evacuation and any criminal investigation within the unified plan.
Disasters and large incidents bring officers far from home, and Act VII governs what they may do there. §7.03 lists the only routes outside primary jurisdiction, including a lawful request for assistance from the agency with jurisdiction, a written mutual-aid agreement supported by statute, and an immediate emergency threatening death or serious bodily injury to the extent law allows. Emergency intervention (§7.05) requires prompt notice to the agency with jurisdiction and creates no continuing jurisdiction. An agreement may set request procedures, command, evidence and custody arrangements, but it cannot confer powers beyond statute (§7.06). Class C and D officers join mutual aid only as their enabling statutes allow, and an agreement never turns a limited-authority officer into a general-authority one (§7.09). Extraterritorial action is reported to the employing agency and the agency with primary jurisdiction (§7.11). Withdrawal of assistance follows the agreement and must be coordinated so no personnel or members of the public are left in unreasonable danger (§7.13). A disaster declaration does not by itself enlarge any officer’s class or territory.
An active threat is an attacker who is killing or trying to kill people in a populated place right now. The priority is often summarized as stop the killing, then stop the dying. Officers do not wait for SWAT or for a full team while victims are being shot: the first officers on scene, alone or in a small group, move directly toward the threat, using the sound of gunfire, fleeing witnesses and fresh casualties to find it. They pass wounded people, telling them help is coming and radioing their locations for the officers and medics behind, because every minute the attacker remains active costs more lives than a delay in first aid saves. If the gunfire stops, the threat has not ended; officers keep searching until the attacker is found, has surrendered, or is otherwise accounted for. Deadly force against an attacker who is shooting people is judged by the immediate threat he poses (Graham v. Connor), and an officer is justified in using deadly force when he reasonably believes it necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to another (SAPC §9.09). The movement-to-threat doctrine itself is professional practice, not a statute.
Scenes are divided by risk. The hot zone is where the threat is direct and immediate, such as the area near an attacker who has not been contained; only armed officers working to stop the threat belong there. The warm zone has been cleared or the threat contained but not eliminated, so danger is still possible; this is where wounded people are reached and treated under protection. The cold zone is far enough away to be safe, and holds the command post, staging, treatment and transport. The rescue task force concept pairs fire or EMS medical personnel with armed officers who protect them, so medics can enter the warm zone to stop bleeding and pull casualties out long before the entire building is cleared. A casualty collection point is a protected spot where the wounded are gathered for treatment and evacuation. These teams work inside the incident command, which decides when an area is safe enough for them. Zones, rescue task forces and casualty collection points are professional practice; no statute defines them. Zones change as the incident does, and command announces every change.
When an officer is shot, win the fight first: return or suppress fire and get the wounded officer and yourself behind cover, because care given in the open often adds a casualty. Behind cover, treat the greatest threat to life first. Massive arm or leg bleeding is controlled with a tourniquet applied high and tight and tightened until the bleeding stops; it is never loosened to “let blood flow,” and the time is noted for medics. Where a tourniquet cannot go (groin, armpit, neck), pack the wound and hold firm direct pressure. An officer alone applies self-aid and reports who is hit, where, and where the suspect went. Shooting at an officer is SAPC §22.07. Duties continue when the injured person is the suspect: once he is restrained and the scene is safe, officers call EMS and render aid within their training, because custody brings duties toward his safety (DeShaney v. Winnebago County; U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1). Care is never delayed for photographs or conditioned on cooperation. Assaulting emergency services personnel providing emergency services is §22.13, and a civilian who obstructs medics after being told to stay clear commits SATC §546.03.
Hazardous materials incidents punish the curious. Approach from upwind and uphill, stop well back, and identify the material from a distance using placards, labels, container shapes, shipping papers and the driver if the driver can safely be asked. Carriers in commerce must display Department of Transportation hazard placards (SATC §644.07, a regulation enforced by administrative penalty). Warning signs that something invisible is present include people or animals collapsed without obvious injury, vapor clouds, unusual odors and dead vegetation. Officers without protective equipment do not rush in to drag out victims; they isolate the area, deny entry, move people upwind, report what they see, and wait for hazmat-trained fire crews. Do not become a victim. Related offenses include transporting placarded hazmat without a hazardous materials endorsement (SAHSC §505.02), failing to report a petroleum spill above the reportable quantity (§505.03), failing to report a hazardous materials release (§505.05), and knowingly releasing a toxic or hazardous substance in a way that endangers public health or safety (§361.07, a 2nd Degree Felony).
A mass-casualty incident has more patients than responders can treat at once, so the goal shifts from doing everything for each person to doing the most good for the greatest number. Triage quickly sorts casualties by priority rather than treating them in the order they are reached. Systems differ, but they share broad categories: immediate (life-threatening injuries that can be survived with quick care), delayed (serious but able to wait), minor (often the walking wounded) and expectant (injuries so grave that survival is unlikely with the resources available). Asking everyone who can walk to move to a marked point clears the field so responders can find the most critical people quickly. Officers stop only life-threatening bleeding during the sort and keep moving, and re-triage as help arrives because conditions change. The dead are left in place unless moving them is necessary to reach the living or for another emergency necessity; removing a body before release by the medical examiner or investigating agency is SAHSC §502.02, and removing evidence from a scene is SAPC §38.30.
Containment buys time. An inner perimeter contains the threat, such as a barricaded suspect, and is held by officers positioned to stop an escape and protect neighbors; an outer perimeter controls who enters the wider area and keeps the public, the press and traffic out of danger. Entering an area cordoned off as an active crime scene without authorization is SAPC §30.21, and entering or obstructing an active emergency operation after being directed to stay clear is SATC §546.03. Evacuation orders deserve precision. Refusing a lawful order from a fire officer, fire marshal or incident commander to evacuate or clear a fire or hazmat scene is SAPC §28.32. SAPC §38D.04, Interference With a Mandatory Evacuation Order, is different: it punishes obstructing, delaying or preventing another person’s compliance, or obstructing the personnel enforcing the order. A resident who simply stays in his own home is not, by staying, obstructing others; officers document the refusal, give clear warnings about the danger, and move on to people who will leave.
Hostage and barricade incidents are won by slowing down. Seizing or detaining someone and threatening to kill, injure or keep holding them to compel a third person, a government body or the public to act is Hostage Taking, a 1st Degree Felony (SAPC §20.06); restraint without that coercive demand is Unlawful Restraint (§20.01). A barricaded subject alone, with no hostage, usually gains nothing from time while officers gain negotiators, tactical teams, intelligence and options. First officers contain and isolate the location, evacuate people at risk, keep communications open, avoid promises they cannot keep, and request negotiators and a tactical team. Rushing a door without need creates the very danger that may later have to be answered with force, and a court reviewing that force considers the whole sequence of events, including the officers’ own earlier choices, not only the final seconds (Barnes v. Felix). Specialties such as bomb disposal and crisis negotiation get standards only where law authorizes them, proportionate to risk (Act V §5.09).
Terrorism is defined by intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or government. San Andreas makes it a 1st Degree Felony to threaten violence or destruction with that intent while creating imminent danger (SAPC §72.01), or to attack critical infrastructure such as utilities, transportation systems or government facilities with intent to disrupt or coerce (§72.02). Using or threatening a biological, chemical, nuclear or radiological weapon capable of mass casualties is a Capital Felony (§72.03), as is a terrorist act causing death (§72.04). Knowingly providing money, weapons, lodging, transportation or other material support to a terrorist organization or act is §72.10, and a knowingly false report of a terrorist act or hoax device is §72.13. Explosives have their own provisions: a knowingly false bomb report or threat (§46.52), detonating a device in a public place (§46.53), and using or threatening explosives to coerce a population or government (§46.54). Threats of mass violence against schools, workplaces or public events are §22.35; a true threat requires proof the speaker at least recklessly disregarded that the words would be seen as threatening violence (Counterman v. Colorado). Swatting, a false emergency report meant to provoke an armed response, is §33.24.
A suspicious package is treated as real until a certified explosives team says otherwise. Do not touch, move or cover it; clear and hold the area; and keep radios and phones away from it, because some devices can be triggered by transmissions. After any explosion, expect a secondary device or attacker aimed at responders, and do not stage at the obvious spots. Disasters also bring crime. Theft or burglary in an area under a declared emergency, taking advantage of the disruption, is Looting (SAPC §38D.01, a 3rd Degree Felony). Charging unreasonably excessive prices compared with the seller’s own prices in the 30 days before a governor’s disaster declaration, during or within 30 days after it, is Price Gouging (§32.30). Falsely posing as an emergency-management or relief worker to enter a restricted area, solicit donations or defraud victims is §38D.03, and fraudulently obtaining disaster relief is §32.21 or §38D.02.
The press and the public may watch and record police from any place they are lawfully entitled to be. Openly recording officers performing their duties in public is protected by the First Amendment (Glik v. Cunniffe; Turner v. Driver), subject to reasonable time, place and manner limits (Fields v. City of Philadelphia), and an eavesdropping law cannot be enforced against people openly audio-recording police in public (ACLU of Illinois v. Alvarez). Officers do not order people to stop filming or to delete recordings. Perimeters bind reporters and the public equally; a press badge is not a pass into the inner perimeter. Verbal criticism of police is largely protected (City of Houston v. Hill), but words or conduct that unreasonably obstruct an officer’s performance, such as shouting to drown out police communications at an active scene, are SAPC §42.15. Information goes out through the designated public information officer so the public hears one accurate account. As general practice, front-line officers do not speculate, do not release victim identities before next-of-kin notification, and do not post scene images on personal accounts.
Constitution and case law
The federal authorities this module's questions rely on, and the rule the academy takes from each.
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