Oakland County Board Calls for Independent Review of Oxford High School Shooting Response
Oakland County’s board chair has called for an independent review of the response to the Oxford High School shooting in 2021. The chairman plans to suggest the board make third-party reviews of such incidents compulsory. His move comes after revelations that raised questions about the speed and effectiveness of the law enforcement response to the deadly incident.
Four students lost their lives in the mass shooting, which also wounded seven other people. Some concerns have been raised over delays in alerting emergency services to the incident, prompting victims’ families to demand a comprehensive review, often referred to as an ‘after action review’.
The board chair believes that there is room for improvement in the handling of such tragic events. He hopes this will lead to better coordination, training, and response in future emergencies. His focus is firmly fixed on learning from past events in order to prevent or at least better manage similar incidents in the future.
In related developments, plans are being made to include funding for the review as part of the county’s upcoming budget. The chairman also believes state funding should be provided for future “after action reviews”, for incidents not just in Oxford, but also statewide.
Interestingly, the Oakland County sheriff’s office has agreed to participate in an independent review, despite previous disagreements on the issue. While there have been internal debriefings and reviews carried out by the sheriff’s office, the chairman insists that going forward, only an independent review will be accepted, in line with standard practice nationwide. The aim is to identify any breakdowns in procedure and rectify them.
All these developments underscore the increasing support for independent reviews of the handling of tragic situations like school shootings, with the aim of improving responses and hopefully preventing such incidents in the future.
In more detailed news, there’s been a show of support from a steel lawmaker for an independent review of the emergency response to the Oxford high school shooting. The lawmaker suggested the state’s attorney should conduct this, despite two previous offers to carry out the investigation being rejected by the school board.
Meanwhile, victims’ families have pushed for an independent investigation funded by the state, a call that has so far gone unanswered. Other suggestions include a bipartisan committee with subpoena power as the only way to unearth the whole truth behind the Oxford High School attack.
This continued call for transparency, improved procedure and thorough investigation can only be seen as positive steps towards preventing such tragic occurrences in schools across the country.
