'We want to be ahead of the curve and not wait until something like this happens,” he said. Garcia says it may just take a knock on the door to prevent a tragedy. Some things the team will look for include social media postings, pre-operational activities and ideologies. They will be the go-to for initiating interventions and case management strategies. It will be made up of community stakeholders with diverse backgrounds and access to resources that can identify and close threat gaps. Sheriff John Garcia says he reached out to federal, state and local law enforcement to create the Behavioral Threat Assessment Team, or BTAT. In the wake of the mass shooting in Buffalo, the Erie County Sheriff's Office is taking the necessary steps to fill the gap in identifying individuals who have the intent on harming or killing others.
