It’s the start of the new year, and there is no better time to take a look back at some of the articles we’ve run over the past 12 months that made us feel good, proud or thankful.

Whether it was a bunch of cops raising money to find a cure for breast cancer, a student stopping a runaway school bus or staff members quickly locking down their campus during an active shooter attack, CS highlighted some remarkable heroics and/or achievements last year.

The following 10 articles are just a few of the many 2017 stories Campus Safety’s editors believe deserve a second look. Did we miss any of your favorites? If so, let us know! Happy New Year!

No. 1: The Pink Patch Project Helps Fight Breast Cancer, Raise Awareness

In May, we highlighted the Pink Patch project that not only raises awareness and money to fight breast cancer, but also helps campus public safety departments develop closer bonds with the communities they serve.

According to Irwindale, Calif. Police Department Sgt. Rudy Gatto, in 2016 the program raised more than $300,000, and the goal for 2017 was $500,000.

Click here to read more about the program and how your school, university or hospital public safety department can participate.

No. 2: 3 Campus Police Officers Save Residents from Apartment Fire

Often campus police officers must respond to incidents that happen beyond their institution’s or district’s boundaries, and that’s exactly what happened last fall when a three-alarm fire broke out at an apartment building near the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.

Fortunately, due to the quick thinking and actions of three Stevens campus police officers -Officer Tim Legowski, Sergeant George Martinez and Captain Thomas Maggi – the apartment’s residents were able to evacuate the building without sustaining any injuries.

Click here to read the full story.

No. 3: Teacher Tackles, Subdues Student Gunman at Ill. High School

In September, Angela McQueen, a 40-year-old physical education and math teacher at Mattoon High School, tackled a student shooter after he fired off several rounds at other students during lunch, injuring one. The injured student was shot in the hand and chest but recovered. The teacher had just recently received active shooter training.

Click here to read more about her heroics.

No. 4: Bakersfield Heart Hospital Staff Credited for Handling of Active Shooter

Effective responses to active shooters was a common them in 2017, not only at K-12 schools, but also at healthcare facilities.

In December, Staffers at Bakersfield Heart Hospital in Bakersfield, Calif., were praised for their quick response after a gunman shot through a glass door with a rifle.

After the gunman entered the building, a hospital housekeeper and a security officer spoke to him in the parking lot. The housekeeper and officer noticed a gun hanging from the suspect’s side. The housekeeper immediately informed her boss about the situation.

Within seconds, a code silver (a person with a weapon) was issued, and the hospital was placed on lockdown. Surveillance video shows nurses moving patients into secured rooms and visitors running out of a waiting room towards the front entrance of the hospital.

Click here to read the full story.

No. 5: Rancho Tehama Staff, Students Praised for Saving Lives During Lockdown

In November we covered another effective active shooter response, this time by Rancho Tehama Elementary School staff members who were able to lockdown the building before a gunman on a deadly shooting rampage could enter.

Authorities credit school personnel for their quick actions in locking down the school when they first heard gunshots in the distance. After hearing the shots, school secretary Sara Lobdell and school custodian John Hayburn ran out to get students and even parents dropping off their children into classrooms. Only eight to 10 seconds elapsed between the time the lockdown was complete and when the shooter appeared in the school’s quad.

Click here for all the details.

No. 6: Unarmed Baltimore School Officer Disarms Student with Gun

On Valentine’s Day, two Carver Vocational Tech High School students began fighting in the school cafeteria as hundreds of students and staff were eating their lunches.

Police officer Joseph Fair, who was unarmed, intervened. As he was responding, he noticed that one of the students was reaching for a handgun. Fair quickly seized the weapon – a loaded 32. Caliber Smith/Wesson handgun with six rounds of ammunition – and took the student into custody.

Click here to read the full story.

No. 7: Univ. of Central Fla., DHS and IACP Announce New Bomb Threat Training Video

Although gun violence gets a lot of media attention, the potential for bomb attacks and bomb threats is also very real.

In response to a spate of bomb threats experienced nationwide, the University of Central Florida (UCF), in conjunction with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Office for Bombing Prevention within the National Protection and Programs Directorate’s Office of Infrastructure Protection, released a four-minute training video that teaches viewers how to respond in the event they receive a bomb threat.

Click here to watch the video.

No. 8: Transylvania Police Chief Stops Machete Attack in Campus Coffee Shop

Edged weapons are frequently used in campus crimes, and in April, a former Transylvania University student wielded a machete as he began attacking students at the school’s coffee shop. Police say the attacker entered the establishment with a bag of knives and swords and stabbed a female student. Multiple witnesses told police he asked students for their political affiliation before attacking.

Fortunately, Transylvania Director of Public Safety Gregg Muravchick was in the university administration building next to the coffee shop when the attack began. He entered the coffee shop with his pistol drawn and saw the suspect cornering several women in the back breezeway.

The situation that followed was tense and also involved two officers.

Click here to read what happened next.

No. 9: Driver Evacuates Students from School Bus Fire

School buses can pose safety hazards to students as well. In May, a bus transporting Spartanburg County students to various schools caught fire.

After two students told driver Teresa Stroble  about smoke in the back of the bus, she immediately pulled the vehicle over. She then evacuated all 56 children from the bus in less than a minute.

Click here to read the full story.

No. 10: Ala. Student Stops Runaway School Bus to Save Lives

Medical emergencies can also pose safety issues, especially if the medical emergency is happening to a school bus driver. That’s what happened in March when a Pell City school bus driver began having a medical emergency behind the wheel.

High school senior Jesse Frank noticed that the driver’s head had rolled back and her hands were off of the steering wheel. Frank ran to the front of the bus as children were panicking all around him and steered the bus off the road, using his hand to press down on the brake pedal. He then called 911 and waited for help to arrive.

School officials say his actions may have saved all 38 children on board the bus, many of whom were elementary school students.

Click here to read the full story.

Happy New Year everyone!

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