Emergency Response During Holiday Season
Rachel Caruso recalls that Saturday, December 13 began as a typical police ride-along shift.
For nearly two decades, Family Service of Rhode Island has placed qualified social workers like Caruso within police patrol units. Their role involves arriving at crime scenes to reduce trauma impact, offering psychological assistance to victims of domestic violence, homicides, sexual assaults, and similar violent occurrences.
That evening, Caruso and her accompanying officer were engaged in Christmas-related duties: gathering donated presents from various police departments for disadvantaged families. Their routine was abruptly disrupted when a radio transmission alerted them.
"That is when the call came in for shots fired on the dispatch," Caruso remembers.
Immediate Action at University Campus
They proceeded to the shooting location, which Caruso soon discovered was the Barus & Holley engineering building on Brown University's campus.
Standard procedure required Caruso to stay inside the patrol vehicle until police declared the area secure. However, she didn't remain passive: she promptly contacted her supervisor, who began organizing a trauma response team to mobilize to the university once authorities permitted access.
"Being in the patrol cars and being able to respond so quickly is one of the things that makes this program work," Caruso said. "And in this moment, it certainly was one of the things that helped us activate so quickly."
Support in Reunification Efforts
After receiving clearance, Caruso was guided into an athletic facility designated as a gathering point for students and their families. She was eventually joined by twenty mental health specialists who arrived to address the shooting's aftermath.
"We really focused on providing a calm presence for the students and the families who were there, answering questions as best we could," Caruso said. "I think there was a lot of answers that we wanted to give and couldn't because we just weren't there yet. So it was really just a lot about keeping everyone as calm as we could and providing any support that they needed."
Caruso, along with other responders from that night, continues to process the day's events. She derives solace from participating in a collaborative, multi-agency team dedicated to assisting individuals during emergencies.
"As someone who has responded to some horrible things, I find a lot peace in what I have been able to do," she said.
