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El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson is working to find a solution to the mass shooting epidemic that is sweeping our country. It has become clear to him that our current approach is not working and that there is a need for a massive overhaul.
How do we notice people that are showing warning signs?
What do we do about those people?
How do we handle threats?
Pierson has looked into every aspect of the problem and has created a strategy to combat it in Assembly Bill 1722.
Pierson says the key to making any progress is with a "multi-disciplinary approach."
"As a career prosecutor, I’m troubled by the fact the greatest weakness in our approach to mass shootings has been to overly emphasize reaction to the first shot fired, and under emphasize the warnings signs, which should alert school and public safety officials to act.
The Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center, the FBI, Los Angeles Police Department and others including Dr. Reid Meloy know that we can save lives by identifying and managing threats in a coordinated, behavior centered, multi-disciplinary approach.
These experts have recommended best practices which include a central reporting mechanism for suspicious behaviors and ensuring that information is evaluated by a multidisciplinary team.
Moreover, the best practices include implementing the recommendations of the threat management team including therapy and other treatment. They also recommend taking steps to ensure that such persons are not further isolated due to archaic and illogical disciplinary processes such as 'zero tolerance.'"
You can read more about his plan and AB 1722 at Cal Matters
Pierson joined Gary and Shannon today to discuss the problem and his proposed solution.