STORY AND PHOTO BY JONATHAN SINTORA, STAFF WRITER
Campus and law enforcement officials spoke out about the active shooter drill and recent communication concerns from students and faculty.
On April 12, Cypress College held an active shooter drill. While campus communications notified students before the drill, many expressed concerns regarding the lack of communication before a SWAT Training exercise that was held on campus last month.
Amid safety concerns, President Scott W. Thayer issued an apology via email, addressing the situation to students and staff. In the email, Thayer said, “We failed to share valuable information and recognize that such visible police presence can cause angst for many.” He continued, “We can and will do better in making sure you are aware of important information. This is part of being invested in a shared journey, and it is our responsibility and commitment to you.”
Shortly after Thayer’s apology, the Cypress Chronicle spoke to Campus Safety Director Craig Lee and Director of Campus Communications Marc Posner.
Lee shared that local law enforcement was contacted before the active shooter drill to ensure no false alarms were reported. In addition to communication with law enforcement, Campus Safety introduced a resource called “Go Bags.” Lee said, “We work with Cypress and Buena Park PD… The bags have keys to the campus and proxy cards.” He continued, “Because the perimeters will be locked down, it allows officers to get in the building and engage a shooter.”
However, Lee gave little information regarding the SWAT exercise. When asked about the safety concerns regarding a lack of communication, Lee said, “I can’t talk about that.”
While addressing President Thayer’s apology, Lee said, “In regards to the president’s apology, we talked about it. We heard what the students had to say, we heard what some of the faculty and staff had to say. Like the president said, ‘We need to do better in making sure the communication is there.’”
Lee concluded by stating the active shooter drill was yet another push to show the importance of communication. Lee said, “If we fail at communication, even if we think we didn’t fail… if you feel we have failed at communication then we need to do better.”
Posner also addressed Thayer’s apology. Posner said, “I think we could’ve done better.” Posner added that the SWAT training was in no way a drill and was carried out exclusively by Buena Park PD. Posner said, “It really wasn’t ours, it was more Buena Park PD. From my perspective, it’s a training in which we provided a facility that was offline to everyone.”
In Thayer’s email, it was reported that the decision to hold the SWAT training was made two days before the event was held. Posner later confirmed that the decision to use campus facilities was not his.
Posner did share his position on how he would’ve navigated the situation. Posner said, “Would it be my preference that we communicated? Yes. If I became aware that Cypress PD wants to come on [campus] and do a training. Yes, I think getting a better sense of the temperature of the campus community.”
The late nature and lack of communication surrounding the SWAT exercise left several unanswered questions. Who decided to invite Buena Park PD to conduct their training on campus? Why was Posner not properly informed?
Posner also noted that the training exercise had occurred while he was away. Posner said, “I knew at some time in the past, there was an interest in doing the training.”
Following interviews with Lee and Posner, the Chronicle contacted the Buena Park Police Department (BPPD) to gather more information surrounding the event.
In a phone call with a member of the Training Division, it was confirmed that Lee authorized BPPD to perform the training on the Cypress College Campus.
The Chronicle submitted a formal records request with the BPPD, requesting access to all documentation related to the SWAT training.
BPPD has not responded to the Chronicle’s request.
