Police officers and sheriff’s deputies in Bucks County are receiving specialized counter-terrorism training from Israeli security experts through $300,000 in state funding secured by lawmakers.
The intensive program, which is one of only four being conducted across Pennsylvania, brings Israeli tactical expertise to 120 local officers from municipal police departments from across Bucks County and the sheriff’s office, Sheriff Fred Harran explained.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
The training took place last week at the former Oliver Heckman Elementary School in Langhorne Borough and Middletown Township, which is slated for demolition.
“When you do specialized training, you hope you never need to use it,” said State Sen. Frank Farry, a Republican and borough fire chief who helped secure the funding. “But in the event that any of these officers need to use this training, it will help them mitigate whatever is transpiring and keep the residents of our community and our children safe.”
Gideon Lapin, CEO and founder of Total Security International (TSI), leads the program with fellow Israeli security experts.
As a retired Israeli military officer, Lapin brings real-world experience to the training.
The training includes both classroom instruction and practical exercises, including live-fire range training and active incident simulations within the school building, Lapin said.
“What we bring to the table is not just showing people how to shoot or how to run. It’s the whole story of the Israeli mindset, the Israeli DNA, the Israeli striving for engagement,” Lapin said. “We want the people here to understand that if they come to a school, they can’t wait. They have to rush in, they have to do it the right way.”
The training included 60 law enforcement officials who detail for the county’s tactical teams and 60 patrol officers and school resource officers.
Harran, a 39-year law enforcement veteran and former Bensalem Township public safety director, pointed to the value of learning from Israeli experts who face security threats daily.
“We’re talking about the Israelis, the best of the best. There are no better than the Israeli military and special forces of Israel to come and teach this to us local law enforcement,” Harran said.
The sheriff noted that American law enforcement tactics have evolved since the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, but the training provides additional expertise from professionals who regularly deal with terrorism.
“Every single day, they live with this, and we’re lucky that we don’t. But we need to be prepared,” Harran added. “This is going to be another tool in the toolbox of law enforcement here in Bucks County to keep you safe.”
State Rep. Joe Hogan, who was joined by fellow GOP representatives Kristin Marcell, K.C. Tomlinson, and Shelby Labs, stressed that while response training is crucial, prevention remains the priority.
“We’ve championed school safety in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and in the State Senate, not just through funding like this, but in other technological programs, trying to bring pilot programs to the commonwealth to detect weapons,” Hogan said.
The legislators have also introduced legislation that would provide funding for school resource officers in every school across Pennsylvania.
“Children cannot learn if they’re not in a safe and healthy environment,” Hogan said.
Lower Southampton Township police Chief Ted Krimmel, whose three children attended the school where the training was taking place, highlighted the financial challenges departments face in providing specialized training.
“Training expenses are always a burden on law enforcement,” Krimmel said. “It’s very important to get all of our SWAT teams working together, which we do recognize anyways. But it’s the first time we had the school resource officers that I’m aware of have this type of advanced training.”
The Israeli instructors taught tactics that differ from standard American approaches, including techniques like firing while running – skills developed through Israel’s ongoing security challenges.
Journalists from LevittownNow.com and several other news organizations were able to watch the training and saw how officers learned to respond to active shooters and take down killers.
Lapin, who was in the U.S. during the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, emphasizes that preparedness is essential in today’s world.
“We can’t be naive. The world is not getting to a safer place,” Lapin warned. “Unfortunately, we see it in Israel, day in, day out, 24/7, and it’s all over Europe and unfortunately it’s coming to the states.”
During the press conference, Lapin and his colleague received alerts on their phones about missile attacks occurring in Israel at that moment, which he said underscored the reality they face.
“I hope that you won’t be needing our training, but it’s better being prepared than not prepared,” Lapin said.
Farry compares the value of the Israeli training to firefighters learning from New York City Fire Department instructors who have different experiences.
“This isn’t based on Columbine experience or Parkland experience. This is based on their experiences,” Farry stated. “Some of the things they’ve learned from their firefighting, they impart on us to make us better firefighters here. And we’re doing the same thing with the retired Israeli military leaders for our law enforcement.”
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