As a campus 9-1-1 dispatch center supervisor, Johnna Sells usually deals with people on the worst day of their life.
"We are the central answering point for any type of emergency on campus," Sells said.
Sells is following in the footsteps of her father, a retired sheriff’s deputy, who she calls her hero. She brings a unique perspective to the agency often serving as a Spanish translator.
Watch the video to learn how Sells continues to make a difference every day.
The Ohio State University Police Division trains countless hours to be prepared for emergency situations such as an active attacker. This week, OSUPD assisted the College of Medicine at an emergency drill for medical students, residents and medical staff.
As Fox28 Columbus reported, medical students and residents became the simulated victims, and caregivers, all at once — while facing down a ficticious gunman shooting loud, blank rounds from a handgun.
"It's very different. You definitely feel the adrenaline running," second-year grad student Travis Sharkey told the news outlet.
The Ohio State University's Community Police Academy is no longer the best kept secret on campus thanks to Lantern reporter Jasmine Hilton who participated in the four-week course earlier this month. In an article published March 21, Hilton summarized what to expect quoting fellow classmates like Kilea White, a second-year in criminology and criminal justice
“We’re learning the insight into the job and more technicalities that you wouldn’t see on television.” White told The Lantern. “It’s the things that you don’t always see out in public.”
The Community Police Academy offers Ohio State students and...
Tornado sirens will sound across the Columbus and regional campuses of The Ohio State University Wednesday morning as a reminder of the state’s Severe Weather Awareness Week.
The annual statewide tornado drill is part of the effort to encourage Ohioans to learn what to do to protect themselves from spring and summer weather hazards, including home emergencies. That includes the campus community.
“The safety of our campus community is our No. 1 priority,” said Robert Armstrong, director of Emergency Management & Fire Prevention in the Department of Public Safety. “If a tornado is reported by the National Weather...
Ohio’s Spring Severe Weather Awareness Week is March 17-23. Ohio State's Emergency Management and Franklin County Emergency Management & Homeland Security will participate in a statewide tornado drill on Wednesday, March 20, at 9:50 a.m. All are encouraged to participate and/or consider what to do during a tornado warning.
A packed house was in attendence at the Fawcett Center to see Kimberly Spears-McNatt sworn in as The Ohio State University Police Division's 11th chief on Thursday, January 10, 2019. She is the first female chief in OSUPD's history and is joined by new Deputy Chief Tracy Hahn. The duo are both Ohio State graduates with more than 50 years of combined law enforcement experience.
“These two women were hands-down the best candidates to assume their respective roles,” Monica Moll, director of public safety, told The Lantern.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Crime reports on and near The Ohio State University’s Columbus campus generally increased in 2017, according to the university’s Annual Security Report and Annual Fire Safety Report.
Ohio State released the report Friday in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act. The report contains data reported between Jan. 1, 2017, and Dec. 31, 2017 (see full report ).
University officials cited multiple factors for the increase in crime reports, including a continued focus on educating the campus community on where to make a report in an...
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will conduct a nationwide test on the backup date of October 3 (10/3) because of response efforts to Hurricane Florence. During this time, wireless emergency alerts (WEA) compatible cell phones will receive a test message. This is not a Buckeye Alert, but many students, faculty and staff will receive the test message. It will have a header that reads "Presidential Alert" and text that says: “THIS IS A TEST of the National Wireless Emergency Alert System. No action is needed.”
Ohio State's Department of Public Safety is now offering a new free safety app for students, faculty and staff.
The point of the Rave Guardian app is to protect students, faculty and staff with quicker alerts and safety notices. And users of the app can pick friends or family as a virtual guardian to follow them via GPS-tracking as they travel around campus.
Watch NBC4's video about this extra layer of security.
Kimberly Spears-McNatt is a Buckeye in every sense of the word. The former Ohio State student now leads The Ohio State University Police Division (OSUPD) as its Interim Chief.
“I was you, I was a student here, I lived in Canfield Hall: I do understand what it’s like to walk across the Oval,” Spears-McNatt told The Lantern in between conversations with students at the Ohio Union.
