Clergy & Law Enforcement Come Together at Pace to Discuss Safety

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (October 2019) – Rev. Anthony Thompson, a Charleston, S.C. based pastor whose wife Myra was among nine people murdered by a white supremacist during bible study, had a simple and direct message about forging ahead after tragedy: Forgive, unite and work together.

Rev. Thompson was one of the keynote speakers at a conference on October 17 at Pace University entitled Safety & Security for Faith-Based Institutions where more than 150 clergy, community leaders and law enforcement from the region convened to learn facets of keeping their institutions safe at a time where hate crimes, hate groups, and gun violence are on the rise in this country and around the world.

“Forgiveness heals everything – spiritually, physically, and mentally,” Thompson told the crowd. “I urge you. I plead with you to forgive whoever you need to forgive. Life will be so much better. It gives you everything positive.”

For Rev. Thompson, author of Called to Forgive: The Charleston Church Shooting, a Victim’s Husband, and the Path to Healing and Peace, forgiving the shooter was not only a personal story of healing, but a broader one for the city of Charleston, which has a long history of racial strife. “We’re not just talking about it in Charleston, we are trying our best to live it in our hearts,” he said, referring to vigils, community events and a dialogue that began after the shooting. “We realized from this tragedy that it’s time to put our differences behind. It’s not only the act of an individual, but an act that changed a community and started a movement.”

The conference, a partnership between Pace University and New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, also featured experts from the FBI, New York State Police, Westchester County Department of Public Safety, Westchester Medical Center, and the Port Authority of NYNJ, among other regional first-responders.

Other highlights of the conference included:

• A threat briefing from Anthony Molloy, supervisory special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force that provided background on hate crimes, offenses associated with religious bias, the rise in white supremacy groups, and techniques for detecting and disrupting threats. Between 2000-2018, there have been 277 active shooter incidents – 11 at Houses of Worship -- that killed 884 people and injured 1,546.
• A presentation “Run, Hide, Fight” on how to prepare for, respond to, and survive an active shooter situation with Roger Parrino, senior advisory of security and emergency management at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Barbara Lee Steigerwald, deputy commissioner, New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.
• Stop the bleed training with Angela Katz, coordinator of Trauma Injury Prevention Outreach at Westchester Medical Center, who noted that lives are saved or lost in the first few minutes of a shooting or serious trauma. “The only thing more tragic than a death is a death that could have been prevented,” Katz said. “You have five minutes to save a life.”
• And a law enforcement panel moderated by Pace Professor Len Mitchell, featuring Vincent Beatty, director safety and security, Pace University; Lt. Col. Dan Cooney, assistant deputy superintendent, New York State Police Office of Counter Terrorism & Intelligence; Putnam County Sheriff Robert Langley, Jr.; and Terrance Raynor, deputy police commissioner, Westchester County Department of Public Safety.

The conference is the second of its kind that Pace University and DHSES have collaborated on and co-hosted this year. “At Pace University, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to keep our campuses both vibrant and safe, and we’re also proud to educate a great number of future security professionals,” said Marvin Krislov, Pace’s president. “We know firsthand the challenges faced by faith-based organizations that must serve their communities while also securing their spaces. We’re very pleased to be able to bring together faith leaders and security experts so they can share experiences and best practices and ensure safety for all of us.”

“Hate has no place in our society and it is incumbent on all of us to do what we can to ensure our communities, especially the most vulnerable, are protected from it,” said Patrick Murphy, Commissioner of the State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services. “Today’s conference focused on sharing information and best practices for keeping faith-based and religious communities safe from hatred and acts of senseless violence. By implementing some of measures discussed today, these institutions will not only be able to improve the safety and security of their facilities, but the community as a whole as well.”