Police Prevailed Over Mother Nature in October Storm

Police Chief John Brogan reported to the Village Board on 11/20 on what happened during Hurricane Sandy and the aftermath from the perspective of the police. Below please find excerpts from his remarks regarding the police response to the crisis.

The Police spent the days prior to the storm preparing for its arrival. In anticipation of Sandy, all vehicles were fueled up, and loaded with caution tape, emergency flares and barricades. Staffing was scheduled to allow for maximum coverage and no time off was permitted.

During the storm itself, serious injuries were prevented by measures taken to encourage everyone to stay home. School was cancelled, the MTA suspended train service, Bee Line Bus Service was cancelled, the County Airport was shut down and highways were closed.

After the State of Emergency was declared in Scarsdale at noon on 10/29 police were at the Emergency Operations Center 24 hours a day until November 2.

When the storm hit at 3:00 pm on October 29, double the normal staff were out in the field in response to toppled trees and wires. Three people were staffing the emergency phones.

At 6 pm, Lightpath phones, internet and the radio system at Police Headquarters all went down and cell phone coverage deteriorated. Calls were then forwarded to one of the two available copper Verizon phone lines. One of the officers was able to repurpose two POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) lines, and hook them up. These were used for incoming calls and for outgoing service to participate in the Con Ed conference calls and for the robo calls to residents.

By 9 pm on 10/29, most of the major north/south and east/west roads were partially or completely closed. The Ambulance Corps had to travel to Central Avenue to reach White Plains Hospital from Scarsdale.

Other facts:

Between 10/29 and 11/5, Police answered 3,300 phone calls from residents seeking assistance. They also dealt with traffic at intersections where the traffic lights were out, long lines at gas stations, the Popham Road Bridge project and the election.

Police made a daily map of open and closed streets

On November 7, the snowstorm caused extensive traffic jams as cars skidded and blocked roadways.

The good news:

Redundant communications systems allowed for continuous service throughout the storm. The 911 system was live and the back-up radio system worked as well.

The Public Safety building had power.

There were no serious injuries or deaths as a result of the storm.

All police officers reported to work during the storm – even those whose families were affected. Some drove 4-5 hours to reach Scarsdale and took dangerous and circuitous routes to get here. Some stayed at headquarters for several nights.

For the future:

We should look into more back-up communications systems or "redundancies."

According to Brogan, "We heard complaints that police were absent on darkened streets." He explained, "There are 90 linear miles of roadway... at a time when travel was slowed by numerous obstructions and officers had to adjust to new routes, we were not able to exhibit the type of police presence that people were accustomed to."

He also added, in regard to the complaints they received about the power outage, "We had no voice in the timing of the restoration and not much more information than the general public about the outages."

He ended by praising the force, saying, "We ran a 24/7 operation and responded to every emergency call in a reasonable period of time. Our police officers were vested in their mission and showed dedication and perseverance throughout, as did the members of the DPW, the Fire Department, the Village Manager's office and every other department of the Village. I was proud to be associated with the effort."