South Brunswick Police Step Up Patrols After Dayton, El Paso

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — This past Sunday afternoon, as the nation was still reeling from the mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, the FBI conducted several conference calls with police departments across the nation.

In Middlesex County, South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond Hayducka was on one of those calls, said his spokesman. That call included law enforcement representatives from across the United States, and included police representatives from Dayton and El Paso, he said.

"There were probably more than 1,000 law enforcement officers on that call," said South Brunswick Deputy Police Chief James Ryan. "The key to law enforcement is information sharing, and they shared what they knew as of Sunday afternoon. We also discussed tactics, things to look out for and where we should be increasing patrols."

Ryan declined to disclose more, again citing public safety.

"We change what we're doing and monitoring every two days," he said.

In Woodbridge, for example, police stepped up patrols at the Woodbridge Center Mall in the past few days, Woodbridge police Capt. Scott Kuzma told Patch.

The South Brunswick police department actually holds active shooter drills, where they teach members of the public what to do in a mass shooter scenario. They only launched the program in February of this year, but so far more than 2,000 people have taken the one-hour class.

The class is free and South Brunswick police will also come to your company, house of worship or any other organization to teach a class. Related: South Brunswick Police Teach Active Shooter Preparedness

"By being aware of your surroundings and having a plan, you are already ahead of most people," said South Brunswick police Lt. Gene Rickle, who runs the community policing division. "Doing nothing in an active shooter situation is not an option. The 60 minutes you spend in this program will provide you with an advantage when every second counts."

South Brunswick police have the ambitious goal of getting 5,000 people to take the class.