Today's Drill
Dear Faculty, Students, and Staff,
This morning Brandeis conducted a robust drill of its emergency response and notification capabilities in concert with local law enforcement, including the Waltham Police Department, Waltham Fire Department, Cataldo Ambulance and Bentley University Police. These agencies worked together with Brandeis Police and BEMCo to test our ability to respond to a significant emergency.
This exercise involved a law enforcement officer posing as an active shooter inside the library, with student volunteer actors serving as casualties and witnesses. I want to thank all the participants from outside agencies, our student volunteers, and of course BEMCo and Brandeis Police, in particular Public Safety Director Edward Callahan and Vice President of Operations Jim Gray. This exercise was many months in planning, and all of the agencies involved, including our own emergency responders, maintained an active level of service even as the drill unfolded.
While this exercise was not prompted by a particular incident, events across the country unfortunately underscore the need for all institutions to prepare to encounter an active shooter scenario. You can also prepare as an individual, by understanding the best current procedures to survive such an incident. If you have not already, I urge you to view this video, produced by The Ohio State University. While the video dramatizes an incident on a campus, the tactics it demonstrates can be used anywhere.
We will be analyzing the results of this drill and will use them to inform our public safety and communications planning. I thank everyone on campus for their patience with this necessary and helpful exercise.
Sincerely,
Ron