[EAS] BLU Alert Comments.

[Sean Donelan]

On Fri, 4 Aug 2017, Mike McCarthy wrote:
> So, some additional distillation of the data might reveal the uniqueness
> of this particular unfortunate event where it was known that such an
> ambush was pending. This is unlike the Baton Rouge ambush (among a few
> others) which there was no prior knowledge of a police office ambush.

The circumstances of each case are very unique. While any murder is 
tragic, there have been some very horrific cases. The law enforcement 
definition of "ambush attack" does not require pre-meditation. Over 
two-thirds of "ambush attacks" are "spontaneous."

As I read news reports of officers killed since 2008, there were a few 
which I think any reasonable person would agree justified a major public 
alert or warning.

Is there a need for a special code only for law enforcement officers? 
There are also some horrific cases of attacks on other types of first 
responders, military personnel, and random people on the street.

If a special Blue Alert is restricted to only police officers, what do you 
use for ambush-style attack on other first responders, military recruiting 
offices, or an assaliant shooting random people on the street? But if you 
have a code which covers all those other cases, why do you need a special 
code for only police officers? Does a special blue alert infer the police 
don't care as much about the safety of other members of the public when 
they don't issue a warning in other cases?