New Hartford police: Plan in place for mall safety

Dec 07, 2007 @ 07:00 AM

By CHINKI SINHA

Observer-Dispatch

NEW HARTFORD – Following Wednesday’s fatal mall shooting in Nebraska, New Hartford police and Sangertown Square officials already have a response plan in place in case a similar situation occurred here, police Chief Raymond Philo said.

“We have been proactive,” Philo said. “You have to move quickly. Should there be a shooter, we have everything mapped out.”

Philo would not discuss the specifics of the plan — called the Active Shooter Policy — but said police have identified all the exits and entrances to the mall, even the ones that are not public, to use in case of such an incident.

Currently, at least two officers are stationed at the mall throughout the week, and there is a substation in the mall that officials use at no cost to the police department, Philo said.

On Fridays and Saturdays, the police department has an extra patrol in the parking lots and more officers in the facility, for which they get reimbursed by the mall.

Wednesday’s shooting in Omaha, Neb., resulted in eight people being killed by 20-year-old gunman Robert A. Hawkins.

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