Cambridge first responders train under new active shooter protocols

Link: http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/news/20180424/cambridge-first-responders-train-under-new-active-shooter-protocols

More than 20 Cambridge police officers and firefighters from both city and university departments gathered in East Cambridge this month for the last week in a series of active shooter trainings.

The trainings started in January and are part of a newly implemented protocol developed to get paramedics to a scene quicker to prevent a victim from bleeding out. Under the new protocol, first responders will put themselves at risk of imminent danger by entering a scene that may still be unsafe, rather than wait for officers to deem the area completely clear.

The Police and Fire departments have been teaming up at the trainings in scenarios where they have to get victims out of a situation faster than they would have in the past, according to Fire Capt. Jeremy Walsh, who developed the new procedure. All trainings took place in the Foundry Building, a four-story open floor plan building that the Fire and Police departments have been using for training purposes.

One scenario involved the first responders entering a well-lit, open-plan “warm zone,” which means that the active shooter situation is over, but there still may be inherent danger. Paramedics entered the scene with a team of police officers surrounding them with guns pointing in different directions to keep them safe. The medics then treated victim role players and removed the victims based on who was most critical. In a real event, the victims would then be transported to the hospital as quickly as possible.

In the second scenario, police officers encountered an active shooter in a dark area with makeshift rooms. Once the officers subdued the shooter and deemed the area safe enough, the fire department was able to go in with police protection and look for victims.

‘We will be prepared’

Walsh said he wrote the new, Cambridge-specific protocol this past fall. The new guidelines are closely modeled after the Hartford Consensus, a set of expert recommendations developed to enhance survival in active shooter situations. He said the trainings have been well-received by the first responders and the departments will probably continue to do these trainings on an annual basis.

“They realize that it’s important and are happy to do it,” he said as he waited for the training to start on April 12. “If something does happen in the future, we will be prepared for it.”

Though the city’s police and fire departments do not work together on a regular basis, the relationships they have established from working together in the past makes it easier to do so, according to Walsh.

As the first responders were being debriefed after the training, police Lt. George Sabbey said the familiarity officers gain from the collaboration will prove beneficial when they are actually in dangerous conditions.

“When you recognize someone in a stressful situation you feel more comfortable, so it’s that collaboration now that will pay dividends when something happens down the road,” he said.

Working with universities

This familiarity also translates to the MIT and Harvard police departments, which were also included. Sabbey said that CPD and the university departments use the same tactics and language and have been working together for many years.

“When we get together and respond to a call, we all kind of know each other and we can all work together,” he said.

Chief John DiFava of the MIT Police Department agreed. DiFava believes the trainings were designed to increase the effectiveness, coordination, and resource integration of the responding departments.

“The MIT Police have great respect for their first responder colleagues across Cambridge and appreciate the opportunity to conduct these proactive trainings sessions in an effort to ensure that all entities are as prepared as possible in the event of a tragedy,” he said in a comment provided by MIT’s director of media relations.

There have not been any active shooter situations in Cambridge, according to Walsh and Sabbey, but both the fire and police departments have dealt with shootings before.

Posted April 24, 2018

Arcadia PD Connects With Community Through Coffee And Conversation

Link: http://www.arcadiaweekly.com/community/arcadia-pd-connects-with-community-through-coffee-and-conversation/

K-9 handler Travis Sargent and his K-9 took pictures with some attendees. – Photo by Jackie Contreras / Beacon Media News

Recently, several people walked into an event room at Embassy Suites and sat down at tables sprawled across the room to talk to members of the Arcadia Police Department.

Many grabbed the complimentary coffee and snacks, and by the first ten minutes the room rang with lively discussion. Five minutes after the Coffee with a Cop event started, more than 30 people gathered in the room, with more people walking in every few minutes; the crowd ranged in all ages.

Standing in one corner of the room was K-9 handler Travis Sargent, who was later seen taking pictures with his K-9 and attendees. This was Sargent’s second time at a Coffee with a Cop event. He said he thinks this type of event is nice because people are in a friendly mood and he gets to meet civilians in different circumstances than he otherwise would.

“People kind of open up a little more and feel free to talk,” he said.

Questions he typically gets asked are about his dog and the type of crime going on in the community.

Other topics people often ask during these events include traffic issues, crime prevention tips, and volunteering with the department, according to Administrative Sergeant Brian Ortiz.

Arcadia PD began this event in late 2013 as a different way to reach out to the public. Detectives, patrol officers, and whoever else is on duty, come out to the event to talk to civilians.

“In police culture, we’re generally talking to you at the door of your car or when something bad happen[s] at your house, and that’s not really an opportunity for people to ask questions,” said Ortiz. “So we wanted to set up a forum where people would feel comfortable to talk to officers and get to know what we do …”

Ortiz said he has seen an increase in participation over the years. The event ranges from “as few as 50 to as many as 175,” he said.

Though there haven’t been any changes to the event since its inception, the department showcases different novelties at the events; from mobile command posts to a SWAT armor vehicle. During this particular event, a 1959 police car was stationed right outside of the venue for people to look at.

The event usually takes place quarterly and is held in different venues across Arcadia, according to Ortiz.

Ortiz said these gatherings help residents understand what the goals of the department are, which are to keep Arcadia safe and to maintain the quality of life within the city.

Pearl Chen, an Arcadia resident of 20 years, attended the event for a chance to ask the police about break-ins in the area. Chen said she thinks this type of event makes it easier to approach police and likes that they want to communicate with citizens. The opportunity to ask police questions helps her better understand the law, she said.

Mayor Sho Tay was also in attendance and talking to citizens and members of the police department.

“Now they know the officer is just another person,” he said. “People think the officers are a totally different type of human, but they are just normal people.”

The next community event with the police department will be National Night Out on Aug. 7, which will be another opportunity for citizens to interact with the police.

Posted July 24, 2018

BU administration opposes President Trump’s revised travel ban

Link: https://dailyfreepress.com/blog/2017/04/06/bu-administration-opposes-president-trumps-revised-travel-ban/

Boston University joined an amicus curiae brief filed Friday challenging President Donald Trump’s revised travel ban, which blocks immigrants from six predominantly Muslim countries.

The 40-page long brief outlines the reasons why international students, faculty and scholars are of irreplaceable value to universities and how they aid the United States economy. It also reviews ways the executive order stymies universities’ progress and puts them at a disadvantage.

The brief presents information and arguments that may be considered by the court, and it has the intention of influencing the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s decision on the order.

BU joined the brief along with about 30 other colleges from across the nation, seven of which are in Massachusetts, including Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northeastern University.

BU spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email that by joining the brief, the university hopes to make the courts understand how the travel ban will adversely impact students and scholars at the nation’s top colleges and universities.

BU has nearly 100 undergraduate and graduate students and more than a dozen scholars from the six countries that are under the 90-day moratorium on entry, Riley wrote.

“The travel ban separates them from their family members living abroad and may make them hesitant to leave the United States for conferences, meetings or personal trips home in case they are unable to re-enter the country,” Riley wrote.

He wrote that he hopes the university’s legal action will prevent the executive order from barring bright students from the countries impacted.

“It is the university’s hope that students and scholars from the six countries who wish to study, teach, or engage in research in the United States are permitted to do so, so that US institutions of higher education, including BU, can continue to attract the best and brightest from all over the world,” Riley added.

Emily Burlij, the associate director for the university’s Office of Federal Relations, said the executive order goes against everything BU stands for.

“[Joining the brief] is our way of standing up for our researchers and our students and being able to showcase what our values are and hopefully help fight for them so we can either overturn these or help carry it to a higher court where it might play out later on,” she said.

One argument that the brief underlines is the importance of diversity and how this provides campuses with a free exchange of ideas. Moreover, it allows all students on campus to become more receptive to different global issues and have a better sense of a global and pluralistic society.

The brief states the different experiences and perspectives these international students bring with them help university communities embrace and learn how to work together across ethnic and religious differences.

In terms of economic incentives, the brief states international students inject hundreds of billions of dollars into the U.S. economy and support a myriad of American jobs. Immigrants can continue to serve the United States once they “become leading innovators, entrepreneurs, artists, and thought-leaders.” Not only this, but many aid in the advancement of their respective fields and make important discoveries and contributions, according to the brief.

Several students said they hope BU’s participation in this legislative action will sway the government to reconsider the implications of its legislation.

Grace Lennon, a freshman in the College of Fine Arts, said she appreciates how BU is taking initiative on such an important matter.

“It’s better than doing nothing,” she said. “We’re such a big school and such a face of Boston, and I think it’s a really good way to honor our city and our country.”

Tien Ho, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she wants Trump to consider the consequences more before passing any legislation that may hurt important institutions.

“Trump argues that it’ll stop terrorists, but I feel like it prevents a lot of people from opportunities to come to America, especially students who are interested in coming here,” she said.

Gabriel Lubbock, a freshman in CAS, said although he views international students as vital to university communities, he is uncertain as to whether the brief will have much of an impact on the court’s decision.

“We need international students to keep this school running,” Lubbock said. “[However, the courts] are trying to determine whether the travel ban is legal or not, not whether it is beneficial or not.”

Posted April 6, 2017

East Boston Bakery Faces Change in Midst of Success

The rush started at 2 p.m. as high school students and families walked in. Ten people crammed into a small “panaderia,” a bakery, in East Boston. Some waited in line to pay, others picked out their pastries from four large display cases.

Elvia Guzman, owner of Lolly’s Bakery, quickly rang up customers, giving them a warm smile and making small talk.

While Guzman is happy about the success of her store, she is bracing for change in the neighborhood she has been living in for 20 years.

“East Boston had been kind of forgotten, and then [the city] came and repaired the train stations and started doing a lot of construction,” she said, “People are buying properties very fast.”

Guzman thinks that this change, along with graduating college students starting families, is pushing her community to move out.

Guzman is all too familiar with the transition of culture in her neighborhood. Lolly’s Bakery is situated in a predominantly Latino neighborhood, but it was not always this way, she claimed.

When Guzman bought the bakery in 1997, the neighborhood and the bakery itself was Italian.

She continued selling Italian pastries for four years in order to cater to the community she lived in and partly because she was new at baking.

“It was hard,” she said, “I kind of felt the [judgment], like, ‘What’s a Spanish person doing here selling pastries?’ That’s what I felt from the customers.”

The bakery did not make much profit when Guzman first took over because of the cultural difference, she said.

“At the beginning we didn’t know if we were going to close, because there were those days where we were barely making ends meet.”

As there was a cultural transition from Italians to Latinos, the bakery started to transition as well. Lolly’s Bakery grew more popular once Guzman started changing the recipes and making pastries that were common to Mexico and other Central American countries. Guzman says she feels like she has to add new equipment every year to keep up with the high demand.

Guzman also likes to express her Latin culture through her pastries.

“We like to keep those pastries that are typical for holidays. We offer them to our customers so they can keep those traditions and teach them to their children.”

Guzman says she hopes to meet the demand of different types of pastries as the neighborhood becomes more diverse.

“I want to incorporate the pastries that these new neighbors want and enjoy,” she said. “Although we do see them come in and try our pastries, but, you know, they have a different type of product.”