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The dramatization is part of an instructional video that Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said he expects to begin distributing to school districts for teachers and others who use school buildings.
That and another video — for those law enforcement officers who could face gun violence in schools — were recorded over the past 18 months at New Milford High School, from scripts drafted by Bergen County Police Lt. Robert Espinosa and Sgt. John LaDuca.
“While each video is currently under review and may be subject to further revisions, the essential training DVDs are complete,” said Molinelli (above).
“The educator version will shortly be submitted to the Department of Education for review and, hopefully, approval as an additional resource available to school district superintendents responsible for educating school personnel on what to do during a lockdown and in the presence of an active shooter,” he said.
“The video is unique in that it is based upon factual scenarios actually experienced throughout the United States over the past 10 years and is a mirror image to the police training video that has been prepared for all law enforcement in Bergen County,” the prosecutor said (CLIFFVIEW PILOT PHOTO by Mary K. Miraglia).
The school educational video “is not designed as a replacement” but as “a supplement to existing training afforded to schools under each school district’s school safety plan,” he said.
Molinelli said his counterparts throughout the state are considering making the videos available to their respective school districts as part of safety plans.
The announcement came at a meeting of county school superintendents yesterday.
The prosecutor also formally offered the services of a staff expert in school safety to all county school districts for free assessements. Districts have a month to sign up. He asked that all requests be submitted directly to him by Feb. 15, given what he expects will be a large number of them.
“There will be no costs associated with the assessment,” Molinelli said.
He touted the instructor, William J Stallone, a certified risk mitigation planner who “has conducted assessments on key public sites.”
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