C.W. Post Security Officers Take Part in Armed Intruder Training

From left: Paul Rapess, acting director of C.W. Post Public Safety; Sgt. Rich Carlstrom, Nassau County Bureau of Special Operations; Officer Patrick McCormick, Old Brookville Police Department training officer; Marty Sullivan, chief of police, Old Brookville Police Department

Public Safety officers at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University joined local law enforcement agencies in a training exercise designed to prepare them for an “active shooter” situation. The six-hour drill, which included police officers from Nassau County, Old Westbury, Glen Cove and Old Brookville police departments, was held on February 29, 2008 in Lorber Hall on the C.W. Post Campus.

“This training exercise was developed after carefully studying the recent school shootings nationwide,” said Maurice T. Sullivan, chief of police for the Old Brookville Police Department, which sponsored the training exercise. “These types of school incidents are particular hazardous and fast paced. The Old Brookville Police Department continually maintains policies, equipment and procedures to ensure timely, coordinated and professional response to any type of incident which may occur.”

The role-play training was intended to prepare officers to employ tactical responses as they faced a high-risk situation. More than 50 law enforcement personnel participated, along with 15 C.W. Post Public Safety officers and administrators, participated.

“It is vital to ensure the safety of our campus community by practicing the effective response in a situation, such as a school shooting,” said Paul Rapess, acting director of C.W. Post’s Department of Public Safety. He added, “The training tactics we covered in this drill were based on lessons learned from acts of violence such as those that occurred at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois,” said Rapess.

C.W. Post’s Public Safety Department operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives regular training in emergency response and security measures. The Department has organized two major campus drills to practice evacuation and “shelter-in-place” procedures with the campus community. The Department of Public Safety also has led the implementation of an Emergency Alert System, which quickly notifies students, faculty and staff by text message, instant message, e-mail or phone in the event of a serious emergency, such as the presence of an armed intruder on campus or a dangerous gas leak. The Campus is installing a network of sirens and loudspeakers to alert members of the campus community who may be outdoors.

For more information about C.W. Post Campus emergency plan, visit www.liu.edu/emergency