Mayor Addresses Gun Violence

New Yorkers were deeply shaken by the violence in San Bernadino last week. What measures are our lawmakers taking here to prevent a similar incident closer to home? At the December 8th meeting of the Board of Trustees, Mayor Jon Mark briefed residents on what the Scarsdale Police Department, along with Westchester County does to counter active shooters and terrorism.

Here are his remarks:

The horrific events that took place last week in San Bernardino are tragically very much on our mind during the start of this holiday season. With those sad events in mind, we are aware that this evening at another venue a forum is being held at which community leaders, clergy and members of various civic organizations are discussing this topic. We therefore thought it worthwhile to comment briefly here on how the Village has focused on this issue and some of the planning that has been done over the years. The following summary was provided by our Police Chief, Andrew Matturo.

The Scarsdale Police trains and partners with regional, county and state law enforcement agencies in an effort to maintain operational as well as intelligence preparedness in both "Active Shooter" situations and Counter Terrorism.

In the wake of the Columbine tragedy in 1999, all members of the Scarsdale Police Department continuously train in active shooter and rapid response techniques. Several times a year, through the cooperation of the Superintendent of the Scarsdale School District, all officers train in various school buildings throughout the district. Officers train with "simunitions" equipment and tactical gear, utilizing the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) protocols along with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) incident command structure. In addition to this ongoing training, the Scarsdale Police Department maintains a "random walk through" program wherein officers are assigned to different schools, on a daily basis, to conduct a walk through check. This program has fostered a positive relationship with the students and staff at each school and has given our officers an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the various floor plans of each building. We have also expanded this program to include other schools within the Village.

Our training officers have presented numerous on-site demonstrations for the staff at these schools as part of our overall annual training agenda. The Department maintains necessary equipment in each of the police vehicles assigned to patrol in order to respond immediately in the event of an incident.

The Scarsdale Police Department is a member of Counter Terrorism Zone 3 (CTZ3) which includes Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess Counties. Along with all zones within the state, our department collaborates with the county and state police and receives daily briefings via email. Several of our officers are certified as Field Intelligence Officers who are updated regularly with pertinent information.
Several times during the calendar year, the Patrol Section Commander issues heightened states of alert orders, increasing specific patrol at all houses of worship, the Scarsdale train station and other locations throughout the Village, depending on intelligence shared within the zone. In addition, the CTZ3 issues "tasking" requests during the year requesting targeted patrol of locations based on current intelligence.
The active shooter training and rapid response would be used in the event of an incident related to terrorism.

The Scarsdale Police Department maintains an inter-municipal agreement with the Westchester County Department of Public Safety which includes all police departments within Westchester County referred to as, the Mutual Aid and Rapid Response Plan. When activated, the plan provides several levels of increased police personnel and equipment in response to unusual occurrences or civil unrest. Specialized units and resources are also available to any member department.

The Scarsdale Police Department encourages all residents to remain vigilant and be aware of their surroundings. Report any suspicious activity to the Police Department immediately so we can work together in keeping Scarsdale a safe place to live, work and enjoy.

Measures to address gun violence involve social and political choices that go far beyond the scope of our local government. It is not our intention to create a false sense of security with respect to events that are by their nature unpredictable, nor do we wish to give rise to undue concerns. However, we want residents to know that our Village staff and, particularly our Police Department, is very much aware of the violent events that have shaken all of us, and has taken the steps just summarized with a view to being prepared for what we hope will never happen here.