violent persons in the workplace employer response and ... employment sem… · july 20, 2012...
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Violent Persons in the WorkplaceEmployer Response and Prevention Options
Samuel Mayhugh, Ph.D.Office of the President,
Integrated Behavioral Healthand
Consultant, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Ater Wynne Employment Seminar
Portland, OR March 21, 2013
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NYPD Active Shooter Recommendations and Analysis for Risk MitigationJanuary 2010
• 281 active shooter incidents from 1966 to 2010 (237 in U.S.)
• Significant variations among shooters and attack elements
• 96% male shooters
• Non-school shooters modal age group 35 to 44 years old
• 98% carried out by a single attacker• Planning tactics range from very little to extensive• Average number of deaths is 3, wounded is 3.6• Location of attacks:
» 29% school» 23% open commercial» 22% “other,” churches, police stations, hospitals» 13% office building» 13% factory/warehouse
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Overview of Shooters
• Types of Workplace Shooters
• The Violence Process and Drivers
• Shooter Common and Variable Elements
• Accelerators and Triggers of Violence
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Violence/Shooter Functioning
Personal functioning driven by:
Thinking — mental process
Feeling — emotional process
Behaving — actions(within life conditions and situations)
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Thinking Problems
• Suspicions• Delusions• Off track ideas• Easily distracted• Focus on negative• Blowing things out of
proportion• Illogical conclusions• Poor decisions for work
actions
• Strong biases and opinions
• Obsessing• Not considering
alternatives or implications of actions
• Poor concentration• Impaired memory• Resentful of coworkers
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Negative Feelings
• Intense anger• Hostile emotions• Feeling arrogant or
supreme• Feeling powerless• Intense, dramatic, and
unstable moods• Anxiety and panic• Depression
• Chronic fatigue
• Jealousy
• Envy
• Intense guilt
• Extremely stressed
• Worthless
• Helpless
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Negative Behaviors
• Argumentative• Refusal to cooperate with
supervisors• Rage reactions• Impulsive• Insomnia• Acting like a victim and
blaming others• Accidents • Manipulative
• Exploiting others
• Withdrawing/avoiding coworkers
• Making mistakes
• Not compliant with work policies
• Bullying
• Threatening violence
• Committing violence
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Home/Family
Health/Wellness
Social Network,Religion
Finances
Community
School/Workplace
Person/Shooter
Home/Family
Health/Wellness
Social Network,Religion
Finances
Community
School/Workplace
Person/Shooter
Personal InteractionsMultiple Conditions in Multiple Situations
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Continuum of Life FunctioningWide Range Exists
NegativeUnproductiveUnsafe UnhealthyDisruptiveThreatening to:
- Self- Others- Workplace Assets
PositiveProductiveSafeStableHealthyResilient
ThinkingFeelingBehaving
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Individual Violence Process
NEGATIVE SITUATIONSPersonal, social, political, religious, etc.
INTENSE FEELINGSAnger, hostility, retaliation, vengeance
IDEAS“Change is not possible in peaceful way”“Violence is necessary and justified”
PLANNINGWeeks/Months/Years
VIOLENT BEHAVIOR
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Basic Shooter/Terrorist Drivers
Vengeance – “Violence against oppressor.”Seung Hui Cho, Bill Phillips, Amy Bishop, Omar Thornton, Robert Hawkins, Clay Duke, Scott Dekraai, One Goh, James Holmes, Adam Lanza, Christopher Dorner
World Order Change – “War for Ideology (religion, legal system, government, environmental, social…)Faisal Shazad, Andres Breivik, James Brunn, Jared Loughner, James Lee
Materialism – “Get there what I don’t have here.”Nidal Hasan, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
Religious Salvation – “Sacrifice for Eternity.”Kahlid Aldawsari, Sulejman Talovic
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Shooter Common Elements in Videos/Cases
• Physical signs of stress and tension
• Intense emotions
• Sense of victimization
• Obsession with the negative situation
• Belief change is not possible peacefully
• Justification of violence
• Shooter death after discharge of violence
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Shooter Variations in Videos/Cases
• Age
• Sex
• Personality – assertive, passive, avoidant, combative
• History prior to shooting – positive, negative
• Accelerators of violence – personal interactions, social/political movements, losses, frustrations, movies/internet
• “Triggers” prior to shooting – specific point or event that detonated the violence.
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Types of Shooters
• Workplace and School Shooters– Other-centered
• Criminal Terrorists– Self-centered
• Ideological Terrorists– Cause centered
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Workplace and School Shooters“Non-Terrorist” Shooters
• Other-centered
• Persons or company/school assets are specifically targeted
• Concern is about current and specific problems; i.e., job termination, conflict with someone, financial difficulty, marital problems, bullying, etc.
• Shooter believes the violence will “solve the current problem”
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Workplace Violence Video
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Discussion of Video
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• Quiet loner, job was his life
• Company sent email requesting some work improvement. No plan to terminate his employment.
• Day of e-mail, bought .38 revolver and 20 hollow point bullets
• 3 hour hostage situation
• Wrote on white board “People call me stupid.”
• Shot self when SWAT arrived
Bill Phillips, 60 y/oTrigger – E-mail Performance ReviewApril 20, 2007Johnson Space Center - Houston, TX 1 killed, 1 hostage, shooter suicide
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Clay Duke, 56 y/oPanama City, Florida School BoardDecember 10, 2010Triggers – Wife fired, family financial loss, Vendetta movie
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Video – Actual Workplace Shooting
AcceleratorsWife terminatedFinancial stressMisperception of legislation/taxesObsession with theme of “V” movie on dvdObsession with board, especially chairman
Trigger – Belief no change possible without violenceComplications
Students in meeting, female attacker, delayed law enforcement response.
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Florida School Board Video
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• Attempted ambush with rifle• 5yrs in prison for harassment –
aggravated stalking• Facebook “Testament”
• “Not evil or monster” - “Wealthy abuse and enslave 95% of population” - “Rich Republicans, rich Democrats are same”
• Profile page has V for Vendetta
Home/Family
Health/Wellness
Social Network,Religion
Finances
Community
School/Workplace
Person/Shooter
Home/Family
Health/Wellness
Social Network,Religion
Finances
Community
School/Workplace
Person/Shooter
Clay Duke• “I have a motion!” to school board meeting• Wife employment terminated after 90 days• School Board budget/tax issue• Refused to identify wife or why terminated
• Duke believed Supt. turned tax measure down then initiated after school terminations
• Duke a licensed massage therapist
• Major financial difficulties
• “Wealth” major focus
• Depressed• Angry• Vengeful• Suicidal• “I will die today” • Bipolar Disorder
• Wife out of work• Unemployment
benefit terminated for wife
• Watching Vendetta Movie
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Amy Bishop, 44 y/oTrigger – Denial of Academic TenureFebruary 12, 2010University of Alabama - Huntsville, AL3 killed, 3 wounded, shooter arrested
• History of disproportional and occasionally violent reactions
• Killed brother in 1986• Investigated for bomb threat• Arrested for assault in IHOP• Could swing between rage for
slights and empathy for students
• Lost battle for job tenure• “Always about to explode!”
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Home/Family
Health/Wellness
Social Network,Religion
Finances
Community
School/Workplace
Person/Shooter
Home/Family
Health/Wellness
Social Network,Religion
Finances
Community
School/Workplace
Person/Shooter
• Demanding• Conflict with Peers and Managers• Unsuccessful Meeting Goal of Tenure• Work not at Par
• Conflicts with Children, youth.
• Arrested for Violence
• Investigated for Bomb Threat
• Case Re-Opened on Killing of Brother
• Conflict with Social Contacts
• Support of Husband• Killing of Brother
• Anger• Hostility• Frustration• Resentment• No resilience• Mood swings• Volatility
Amy Bishop
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Criminal TerroristsNo Major Ideological Issue
• Self-centered
• Hostile reaction to some frustration, loss, or damage to ego
• Desire for vengeance “justifies violence”
• Seeks psychological reward through terrorism
• Thrilled by power of firearms, bombs, killing, and chaos
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Criminal Terrorists (Cont.)
No Major Ideological Issue
• Use soft and opportunistic targets—malls, theaters, retail stores, office buildings, health clubs, etc.
• Lack discipline and training of the ideological terrorist, but more expert weapons use
• Lack of specific goals results in mass murder and often suicide or death by law enforcement
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Criminal Terrorists (Cont.)
Planning and Preparatory Acts
• Extra ammunition carried• Shooter often exhibits cold, calm, and
expressionless appearance• Mental rehearsals and practice firing
prepare shooter• Avoidance and escape plans almost
non-existent
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Robert A. Hawkins, 19 y/o Trigger – Depression, Job Termination, Loss of GirlfriendDecember 5, 2007Westroads Mall Shooting - Omaha, NE8 killed, 4 injured, shooter suicide
• Estranged from parents—lived with friends and their mother
• Medication and therapy for depression by age 6
• At age 14, threatened to kill stepmother with axe
• Criminal record, felony drug charges, and
homicidal threats
• AKM semi-automatic rifle used in shooting
• One hour prior to shooting, mother gave police
his suicide note:
– “I just want to take a few pieces of
S***with me…just think, I’m gonna be
f****** famous”
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James Holmes, 24 y/oTrigger – TBD, Possible failure, mental illness, obsession with “dark side villain”July 20, 2012Theatre Shooting – Aurora, CO12 killed, 58 injured,
• Planning over several months• Purchased weapons & ammo• IED’s in apartment• Assumed “Joker” character.• “Calmly” fired into theatre• Reportedly “normal” child,
academically very successful, until Ph.D. program
• Mental health contacts priorto shooting reported
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Adam Lanza 20 y/oTrigger – TBDDec.14, 2012Sandy Hook School, Newtown, CT20 children and 6 adults killed, 2 wounded, shooter suicide
• Details to follow opening of court documents
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Christopher DornerTrigger – Loss of Self-esteem/February 2013, Big Bear, CA4 killed, 1 wounded, shooter killed (suicide?)
• Employment terminated 2008
• Second appeal denied October 3, 2011
• Extensive Manifesto posted Feb. 2013
• Vengeance toward LAPD, especially case related persons and family
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Ideological Terrorists
• Cause-oriented• Perpetrated for an ideological goal, as
opposed to a lone attack, for a specific contemporary issue
• Use violent acts intended to create population fear (terror)
• They deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants
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Ideological Terrorists (Cont.)
• Narrowly focused• Highly motivated & Dedicated to a cause• Acts based on or driven by political,
economic, social, geographic, or religious elements
• Do not believe change can occur in a peaceful way; therefore “violence is justified”
• Includes radical environmentalists, racists, separatists, political groups, and violent jihadists
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Love Wolf Video
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James Von Brunn, 88 y/oIdeology – White Supremacist and Anti-SemiteJune 10, 2009 Holocaust Memorial Museum - Washington, DC1 killed, shooter arrested
• Ex-wife claims “his hatred ate him like cancer”
• Shooter died in prison hospital January 5, 2010
• Guard killed while trying to assist Von Brunn into door
• Signed with Navy in 1942, reason given as “patriotic”
• Honorable discharge in 1956
• Arrested outside Federal Reserve Board meeting with shotgun, revolver, knife (1981)—upset about interest rates and economic turmoil—served 6.5 years in prison
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Seung-Hui Cho, 23 y/oIdeology – Warfare for Oppressed and Poor April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech - Blacksburg, VA32 killed, 23 wounded, shooter suicide
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Strange Thinking State1-2 years prior to shooting
2008 - 2010
Delusional StatePost-Shooting Mug Shot
January, 2011
Pre-Disturbed Normal State3 years prior to shooting
Approx. 2007
Jared Lee Loughner Ideology – Anti-government ConspiracyJanuary 8, 2011 Rep. Giffords’ Event – Tucson, AZ6 killed, 14 wounded, shooter arrested
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Anders Behring Breivik, 32 y/oIdeology – “Begin campaign for Pan-European Coup d’États, deportation of Muslims and execution of militia traitors, by year 2083” July 22, 2011 Bomb Attack on Labor Party Building - Oslo, Norway 8 killed, many injured, bomber arrested (at later shooting)
• Bomber’s concerns– “Multiculturalism, Marxist-
oriented governments, Islamic tyranny…Islamic demographic warfare”
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Anders Behring BreivikJuly 22, 2011 Active Shooter - Post Bomb Attack - Utøya Island, Norway 68 killed, 60 wounded, shooter arrested
• Shooter’s immediate goals
– Assault the current and future Labor Party Leaders, considered by the shooter as traitors to “Pure European Culture.” The “actions are atrocious but necessary.”
– Promote other self-appointed guardians to also act as “judge, jury, and executioner, until threats by cultural genocide are gone.”
• Shooter initially imprisoned in what was once a Nazi concentration camp
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Triggers Exist but Persons “Don’t Just Snap”
• Violent behavior or potential is rarely new for perpetrators
• Usually patterns of negative thinking, feeling, and/or behavior are part of the history
• Triggers intensify the negative elements
• Planning for violent reaction usually takes place over some time
• During this time, signals, flags, and sometimes threats exist but are rarely seen as serious or are not reported
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Problematic Conduct for Reporting and/or Intervention
• History of threats or violence – employment or criminal
• Using power to control others or as response to stress
• Bullying, outbursts, excessive anger
• Verbal abuse or harassment by any means or medium
• Holding grudges, inability handling criticism
• Making excuses, blaming others
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Problematic Conduct for Reporting and/or Intervention
• Complaints of persecution or injustice
• Victim mindset
• Obsessive intrusion upon others
• Erratic, impulsive, or bizarre behavior generating fear among co-workers
• Homicidal or suicidal thoughts or ideas
• Severe emotional distress
• Impulsivity and/or low tolerance for frustration
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Problematic Conduct for Reporting and/or Intervention
• Fascination with weapons
• Preoccupied with violence themes of revenge or recent violent events, if discussion creates discomfort or fear in co-workers
• Any behavior or collection of behaviors that instill fear or concern that the person may act out violently
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Summary• Risk of violence from many different types of
persons. “Profiles” are not helpful and may be dangerous.
• Knowledge of individual’s Thinking-Feeling-Behaving patterns and possible potential reactions to negative events is critical to prevention.
• Effective risk assessment and violence prevention requires “all hands on deck,” i.e., security, office workers, supervisors, HR, family, and friends.
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Responding to Potential Violence in the Workplace
• Evaluate Seriousness– Access to or presence of weapons
– Hostile or erratic behavior
– Nothing to lose
Consider Threat Type
• Direct Threat
• Conditional Threat
• Veiled Threat
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Warning Signs – Personal Problems
• Family or Social Problems
• Financial Problems
• Physical or Mental Illness
Warning Signs – Personal Problems
• Romantic Obsession
• Domestic Violence
• Substance Abuse
• History of Violence
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Signs of Escalation
• Physical– Pale or flushed
– Rapid breathing
– Tensing and clenching
– Focused gaze or starring
– Decreased environmental awareness
• Behavioral Signs– Standing tall/posturing– Raised voice– Change in behavior– Too much eye contact– Increased agitation– Pacing
Defusing a Potentially Violent Situation
• DOGS
Defusing
Of
Grievance
=
Safety
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De-escalation Techniques
• Bring down the intensity with non-verbal signals, verbal signals and self control
Non-Verbal
• Confidence but not cocky
• Calm and in control
• Personal space (3 to 4 times more)
• Never touch
• Avoid staring or too much eye contact
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Non-Verbal
• Open posture
• Hands visible
• Do not hold anything
Verbal Expression
• Manage your words and emotions
• Speech slow and calm
• Lower voice level
• Direct and to the point but not accusing
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Verbal
• Allow other person to have their say
• Use I messages
• Avoid negative language or attacking
• Understanding from their perspective
Self-Control
• Control intensity of my language and emotion
• Don’t get hooked by rising emotion
• Find alternative to conflict
• Don’t personalize the behavior
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Empathy
• Even if wrong, a hostile person is acting on perceptions that are real to him. Give him a verbal outlet to air his grievances. Understand his perspective
Listen
• Stop what you’re doing and give the person your full attention. Ask questions that clarify theirperspective.
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Avoid Confrontation
• Be calm, courteous, open and honest.
• Never embarrass, demean or verbally attack a hostile person
Allow Airing of Grievance
• Make eye contact without staring
• Let the person have his say
(not necessarily his way)
• Ignore insults and challenges. Don’t take them personally.
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Allow Person to Suggest A Solution
• A person is more likely to agree to a solution he has helped develop.
• Even a very unreasonable person may have very reasonable suggestions.
Move Toward a Win-Win Resolution
• Preserve individual’s dignity.
• Move focus from what you can’t do to what you can.
• Call in additional resources, such as a supervisor, Human Resources, Employee Assistance Program, etc. If possible, have individual’s permission to do so.
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Staying Safe
• Never assume violence can not or will not happen in your workplace.
• Workplace violence should be an on-going concern of everyone.
• Awareness, training, and communication can help prevent aggression.
Violent Persons in the WorkplaceEmployer Response and Prevention Options
Samuel Mayhugh, Ph.D.Office of the President,
Integrated Behavioral Healthand
Consultant, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Ater Wynne Employment Seminar
Portland, OR March 21, 2013