Held at The Ledges residence hall during winter break on January 7, the live training focused on preparedness and coordinating tactics, cooperation and communication between armed Quinnipiac public safety officers and Hamden Police SWAT team members. The interagency exercise is another example of Public Safety’s ongoing commitment to strengthen the university’s overall emergency readiness, said Quinnipiac Chief of Public Safety Tony Reyes. 

“This is part of an ongoing effort that we have with our partners to make sure that we are continuously training, that we are identifying any issues with interoperability, and that our work and our response is seamless,” Reyes said.   

Reyes said the unique exercise is a manifestation of the university’s strong relationship with Hamden Police Department.  

“Very few police departments are training with their colleagues at the university level, so I’m very proud of the relationship that we have with Hamden,” said Reyes. “This event today speaks to the commitment that we have to this community and, just as importantly, the strong partnerships we have with Hamden Police. Their willingness to do this and take time to collaborate and share tactics is not a common thing, and shows their commitment to Quinnipiac.”

Hamden Police Chief Edward P. Reynolds spoke to the importance of conducting active shooter training in collaboration with Quinnipiac Public Safety and Reyes.   

“This joint training reflects our progressive approach to public safety and our commitment to proactive preparedness. By working hand-in-hand with our partners at Quinnipiac University, we are strengthening coordination, communication, and response strategies to ensure the safety of students, staff and the greater Hamden community,” Reynolds said. “These collaborative efforts are essential to remaining prepared for critical incidents and demonstrate our shared dedication to training, readiness and public safety.” 

The on-site joint training exercise was coordinated by John Jacobi, Quinnipiac Public Safety’s lieutenant of training and professional standards. Reyes said Jacobi’s efforts were instrumental in planning and implementing the university’s first interagency on-scene training involving Public Safety and Hamden Police.

“Lieutenant Jacobi has done similar trainings and exercises off-campus, but he really pushed for this on campus because there’s no replacement for getting familiar with on-scene, especially for our partners,” Reyes said. “To get our partners who are going to be part of the response team for any kind of an event to really get familiarized, in this case with a dorm, is critical. There’s no substitute for that.”  

“Our primary responsibility at Public Safety is protecting our community, and there’s no better way for us to be able to respond to an active incident than to have training on-site in dorms and in academic buildings where we’re most likely going to be responding,” said Jacobi. 

Twenty six armed Quinnipiac Public Safety officers and one dozen Hamden SWAT team members trained together in current best practices for building-clearing tactics; barricaded-subject response protocols; interagency team tactics and coordination; and communication procedures and related response topics.  

“The idea for today is to get everybody on the same page, using the same tactics and the same communication as we move into much more complicated scenarios in different buildings throughout the rest of the year,” Jacobi said. 

In the coming year, results of the joint training exercise will be built upon with more live exercises rolling out as university scheduling allows. In addition to working with Hamden SWAT, Jacobi hopes to move the program forward for the North Haven Campus by working with North Haven SWAT.  

Hamden Police Department Emergency Services Unit/SWAT Commander Lieutenant Robert Manfield said interagency collaboration and cooperation is extremely important and essential to effective response in an emergency.  

“It’s very important that we that learn how to cooperate with the Public Safety staff so everyone’s on the same page. If something were to happen, we want to be trained together and cooperate, so we know how to move together and secure what we need to secure,” Manfield said. “Quinnipiac’s being very progressive on this. They coordinated with us for this training exercise. That’s huge for us, because we know they’re serious, and we’re also serious. Everyone wants to move forward with this.”  

The strong partnership between Quinnipiac and Hamden Police is also helping to strengthen the training work of the Public Safety force. Last January, Jacobi and Manfield partnered on behalf of their agencies to lead a Public Safety Training Academy for Quinnipiac and Hamden officers. 

“There’s a lot of interest here. There’s a lot of motivated people from our external partners that are giving us what we need to step up our game,” Jacobi said.  

All Quinnipiac Public Safety officers are amplifying their extensive law enforcement or correctional officer backgrounds with ongoing training led by the department as well as training supported by external partners. Within past year, in addition to the Public Safety Academy, officer training has included MILO law enforcement simulator training; a full day at Waterbury Police Academy in September and October; and a full day of use of force and firearms range training in November and December. 

“Every couple of months, we’re adding another step to this process, and we’re going to continue,” said Jacobi. 

The January 7 joint training exercise built upon the multi-layered August tabletop exercise that brought together a broad cross-section of external partners at the federal, state and local levels, along with internal stakeholders representing nearly every area of the university, said Reyes. 

“The August tabletop exercise was phenomenal,” Reyes said. “It helped to strengthen the partnerships both internally and externally and we also identified some areas we could strengthen that we’re working on. Some are policy related; some are communication and response related. So the joint training exercise today is extension of that preparedness and of that training that we did back in August.” 

Public Safety Officer Brian Lapila brings years of experience to his university role. He said receiving ongoing training and participating in the day’s joint training exercise is serving to elevate safety for all on campus. 

“I think the training we’re getting totally pinpoints what we’re here to do, and bringing the two agencies together for this is huge,” Lapila said. “What we’re learning makes the students feel safer and parents feel safer that their students are here with us. As public safety officers, it’s our job to keep them safe. Working with the Hamden police today, we’re able to collaborate, put their ideas with our ideas, and mesh our experience. We’re building our tactics and putting more into our toolbox to ensure everyone’s safety.”