College’s new training video presents tactics for survival when responding to an active shooter

NEW PALTZ – A new training video created by the State University of New York at New Paltz offers real advice and tactics for surviving an armed attack.

“The intent of this video is to raise awareness for our faculty, staff and students, as well as present pre-plan options in case of an active shooter on the New Paltz campus,” said David Dugatkin, chief of police.” It covers how to secure classrooms without locks on their doors, classrooms with egress windows, and safe locations to hide in an emergency.”

According to Dugatkin, the video is posted on the University Police Department (UPD) website at www.newpaltz.edu/police/active_shooter.html.

In May, New Paltz Professor Daniel Hunt and Field Production students, in conjunction with University Police, began filming with a cast of extras comprised of students and members of the University Police Department. In the video, a disgruntled former employee enters the New Paltz campus seeking retribution on his former employer. Storming into his old workspace, he is armed with a rifle, shooting aimlessly in the building. Alert students hear and see the shooter and immediately notify University Police who respond and go into “active shooter mode,” based on numerous trainings they have received. Their one and only objective is to neutralize the shooter.

In addition to posting the video online, University Police will offer mini-training sessions to residence halls, faculty and staff departments, and others on campus who request it. Sessions will run 30 minutes and include a viewing of the video along with a question and answer session with a University Police Officer.

The training video, Dugatkin said, is one of many initiatives and programs that the University Police Department emphasizes throughout the year. Others include Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes, offered several times a year; safety lectures in the residence halls; video surveillance throughout the campus; the University Police Campus Escort Service; and the College’s anonymous tip line accessible online at www.newpaltz.edu/police and via phone at (845) 257-2230.