PARK RIDGE, N.J.—On a quiet evening in June, inside the Little Theater at Park Ridge High School, Police Chief Joseph Rampolla hopes to fill every seat with people willing to confront a terrifying question:
What would you do in the first seconds of an active threat? Would you freeze? Would you flee? Would you know what was happening? Would your child? Would your spouse?
“This is the kind of training we give to law enforcement. It’s the kind of training we give to the military. But the general public—your neighbor, your kid headed off to college—they don’t usually get this,” Rampolla said. “I think they should.”
On Wednesday, June 12 at 7 p.m., Rampolla will deliver a free public presentation titled “Run, Hide, Fight”—a nationally recognized strategy for surviving active shooter situations and other violent threats. Drawing from a federal “train-the-trainer” program led by Louisiana State University and the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training, Rampolla has created a powerful, highly visual 90-minute experience. It’s designed not to alarm but rather to awaken.
“The first people I wanted to give this training to were my family,” he said. “Because I care about my family very much. Now I want to give it to everyone’s.”
From Quiet Dismissal to Sudden Chaos
Rampolla’s message is clear: We cannot afford to dismiss the world around us. The public has become conditioned to ignore the odd noise, the sharp pop, the flash of motion—all easily explained away as a backfiring car or some everyday disruption. And in most cases, that’s true.
Until it isn’t.
“Generally, people will dismiss a loud noise or some type of commotion,” Rampolla said. “That’s dangerous. This training helps you recognize those little things. It helps you act.”
Rampolla agreed that in crises, situational awareness—often shortened to SA—is the ability to understand what’s happening around you. Whether you’re driving, working a crowded event, responding to an emergency, or just moving through your day, good situational awareness helps you spot risks early, make better decisions, recall valuable details, and avoid accidents. It’s not about being paranoid—it’s about being tuned in. In high-stakes fields like aviation, law enforcement, and the military, SA can mean the difference between a smooth outcome and tragedy. But it’s just as valuable in everyday life, where noticing small changes can keep you and others safe—to avoid panic and tunnel vision.
The presentation will guide attendees through real-world incidents, 911 audio, visual reconstructions, and behavioral analysis. It will include the moments that went right—and those that didn’t.
“We show things to do and things not to do,” he said. “People grabbing their purse while bullets are flying, like it’s their luggage when evacuating an airplane—don’t do that. Leave it. Nothing you have is worth your life. That’s not going to help you. You have to be focused. You have to prioritize survival.”
Beyond Active Shooters
While mass shootings often dominate the headlines, Rampolla stresses that active threats come in many forms.
“It could be a shooter. It could be a machete. It could be a car. It could be someone in your workplace. The point is: it’s real. It happens. And it can happen anywhere.”
Rampolla said FBI data from 2023 shows active shooter incidents occurred in a wide variety of locations:
- 28 in open spaces
- 14 in commercial locations
- 3 in education
- 2 in healthcare
- 1 in a residence
None in houses of worship or government buildings that year—though there were several the year prior.
“Unless you plan to stay locked in your house for the rest of your life, you could be in one of those places,” Rampolla said. “This is about giving you the tools to get out alive.”
Run. Hide. Fight.
It’s more than a slogan. It’s a survival framework, honed from real-world encounters and backed by decades of data.
- RUN — Evacuate quickly if it’s safe to do so.
- HIDE — If escape isn’t possible, conceal yourself in a secure place.
- FIGHT — As a last resort, use physical force to protect yourself.
Rampolla doesn’t sugarcoat the material. But he also doesn’t want people to walk away afraid.
“You don’t want to live in fear,” he said. “But you want to live ready.”
“We Lost Seven People.”
Rampolla still remembers the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Not just the smoke and silence and disbelief—but the names.
“Park Ridge lost seven people in that attack,” he said. “Seven of our residents. I had family members who barely survived. We all remember how close it came.”
That memory—of lives interrupted, of families forever changed—has shaped his commitment to preparedness. He wants people to feel empowered, not helpless.
“You never know where you’ll be when something happens,” he said. “This training gives you a better chance of going home to your family.”
The training isn’t just about personal survival. Rampolla says he believes strongly in team awareness—families, coworkers, classmates—people who see each other every day and might one day need to act as one.
He’s already led the presentation for all Park Ridge School District staff and borough employees. “If a husband and wife attend together, they can form a plan. If coworkers see this together, they can coordinate. It’s not just about surviving alone. It’s about surviving as a team.”
Rampolla is quick to stress that the event is open to everyone, not just Park Ridge residents.
“If we can pack the theater, that’s great,” he said. “And if we need to do it again, we will. I just want as many people as possible to get this information.”
The department is asking people to register in advance, not because there’s a cost—it’s free—but so organizers can plan for seating and parking.
When asked whether he sees potential for the program to be expanded countywide, Rampolla paused thoughtfully. “I’m not aware of this training being taught elsewhere in Bergen County,” he said. “But maybe this will get the ball rolling. Maybe the demand will speak for itself.”
He hopes that seeing public interest will prompt larger-scale coordination.
“I think it should be offered more broadly. This shouldn’t be a one-off.”
In his final thoughts, Rampolla circled back to what matters most: people, and the families waiting for them at home.
“The truth is, most people will never need this training. But if you do—if one day something happens—this could save your life. That’s not dramatic. That’s just the world we live in. You don’t get to choose when something goes wrong. But you can choose to be ready.”