How police prepare for active threats at malls

Incident at SoNo Collection left some shaken

Crashing displays sent scared customers scurrying for hiding spots in Bloomingdale’s last week, as the sounds of one man’s alleged destructive rage were mistaken for gunshots.

Moments later, 911 dispatchers received frantic calls from bystanders who were taking cover on all three floors of the high-end department store as they awaited support from SoNo Collection security and police.

It turned out, the suspect causing the noise, who police identified as 42-year-old Jason Gilbertie, of Norwalk, was unarmed, but the incident raised questions about what would have happened if he was armed with something more than a lit cigar and an appetite for destruction.

The Norwalk Police Department, like other Connecticut law enforcement agencies, has an active threat policy for those types of situations.

An active threat is “an event in which one or more subjects participate in a random or systematic shooting incident, demonstrating their intent to continuously harm others, posing an imminent threat of death or serious physical injury,” according to the Norwalk department policy.

But each active threat scenario is different, according to Sgt. Sofia Gulino, a spokeswoman for Norwalk police. The number of suspects, location, time of day and other factors can change how a situation is handled.

One thing all active threat situations have in common, however, is that first responders are key to how events unfold.

In last week’s instance, mall security guards were the first to reach the suspect. According to witnesses, security guards first tried nonphysical interventions, and then used pepper spray, but how that response would have differed if the suspect had been armed is unclear.

Lindsay Kahn, a spokeswoman for Brookfield Properties, which owns The SoNo Collection, said all mall security personnel complete annual active shooter drills similar to those conducted by the police.

The Norwalk mall’s security officers are employed by Pennsylvania-based Allied Universal. A representative from the company did not respond to requests for comment.

Kahn would not comment on what the security training entails or about the company’s protocol on active shooters.

“We cannot discuss our security protocols,” she said.

It was a messaged echoed by representatives from the Westfield Trumbull Mall and the Stamford Town Center.

The first line of defense for police in these situations is typically the department’s patrol division. In response to the Bloomingdale’s incident, Norwalk patrol officers arrived at the mall less than four minutes after the first 911 calls came in and quickly detained the suspect.

When these first responders arrive at the scene of a potential active threat, they are responsible for assessing the situation and providing information to dispatchers. This initial patrol response varies based on the type of call — whether it’s a “shots fired” scenario or reports of an alarm activation — and where it is happening.

“Situations like these are always evolving, so we rely on community information as well as an officer’s eyes and ears to figure out what exactly is going on, so the first responders are there to get the information that a dispatcher cannot,” Gulino said.

Are the officers adequately armed to deal with the threat?

Is it reasonable to believe people could be killed if immediate action isn’t taken?

Is the armed suspect accessible?

These are all factors first responders — also known as the contact team — need to consider when determining the next course of action.

Gulino said each patrol division shift includes at least one member of the department’s Emergency Services Unit, which specializes in dealing with tactical responses and other unique situations. This gives the department an advantage if there’s an active shooter situation, Gulino said.

If the situation is deemed serious enough, the department can use the city’s emergency notification system to warn the public of the threat.

Depending on the scenario, officers on the contact team could try to intervene immediately, but only if it’s deemed “necessary and reasonable,” according to department policy. In other cases, they could call for the activation of the department’s tactical team, equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and heavy armor.

Outside the perimeter of activity, police officers, fire officials and paramedics will assemble a rescue task force to deal with anyone who needs treatment.

“Once police clear a section of the building, a room or wherever they may be, we’ll move in with EMS and police protection and we’ll treat patients, triage them and pull them out. And we’ll continue to do that from room to room, depending on how large the building is,” Norwalk Assistant Fire Chief Chris King said.

To prepare for such incidents, the fire department conducts in-house active shooter training every four to six months and at least once a year with police and paramedics, King said.

Police departments across Fairfield County have similar plans if an active shooter targets malls or other large public areas in their municipalities.

In Danbury, police recruits are often taken to the Danbury Fair mall and other large public spaces, like Danbury Hospital and local schools, to get a good sense of the layout, according to Lt. Andrew Corrado, a public information officer with the city’s police department.

“As part of our training process, we run them through the mall and make sure that they’re familiar with what’s on the floors and the hallways,” Corrado said.

However, just as police responses change depending on the situation, so does department policies and response plans.

In Norwalk, for example, a community police officer overseeing the West Avenue-Wall Street corridor will now be station at The SoNo Collection following last week’s incident, according to Lt. Jared Zwickler, head of the police department’s Community Services Division.

“We’re always looking for ways to improve," he said.