Phillipsburg Early Childhood Learning Center shooter drill in 2008 prompts lawsuit

BELVIDERE | An unannounced 2008 drill at the Phillipsburg School District preschool building left some teachers diving for cover as an actor posing as a gunman fired blank rounds in the air after charging into a library.

District elementary teacher Valerie Dozier and her husband, Michael Dozier, have filed a lawsuit in New Jersey Superior Court asserting the experience left her with permanent physical and psychological injuries. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages.

"An armed gunman suddenly burst into the library, screaming, yelling and shouting obscenities," reads the lawsuit, which was filed Friday. "He waved a firearm in immediate view of (Valerie Dozier) in a threatening manner and intentionally discharged the firearm in the presence of (Valerie Dozier) and the approximately 50 other persons present in the library."

School was not in session Aug. 28, 2008, when elementary school teachers gathering for a three-day workshop "began scurrying and fleeing the library with panic and fear for their lives," the suit reads.

Dozier, fleeing the building with others, tripped and fell on the school grounds, seriously injuring herself, according to the lawsuit.

Only later would teachers learn it was a drill to test teachers' responses and the response time of local authorities, according to the lawsuit.

Drill deemed a success

The drill was coordinated between Phillipsburg police and school administrators to create a realistic scenario, then-acting Superintendent George Chando said at the time.

"It was done as means of assessing the security readiness," he said then.

William Merrick, the school's now-retired security director, described the drill at the time as a success. The district had previously staged two other unannounced drills.

Law enforcement knew the intruder was an actor, but most of the teaching staff did not, administrators said after the drill.

Following the incident, teachers and others in the building were debriefed and their actions critiqued by drill leaders in the cafeteria. Some teachers were in tears, according to one teacher who spoke about the incident.

Numerous defendants

Named as defendants in the Doziers' lawsuit are Merrick, the school district, the Phillipsburg Board of Education, town of Phillipsburg, the Phillipsburg Police Department, the Warren County 911 Communications Center, the New Jersey Department of Education and the New Jersey Education Association.

The Doziers, of Lower Mount Bethel Township, could not be reached for comment Monday. They are represented by DeMasi & Williams in Phillipsburg. A message left at the law firm was not immediately returned.

Phillipsburg schools Superintendent Mark B. Miller was not with the district when the drill took place. He said Monday he had not seen the lawsuit and declined comment.

Merrick, 58, also declined comment. He retired after the 2008-09 school year.

Warren County Public Safety Director David Gallant recalled the drill.

"I remember the episode," Gallant said. "We had no direct involvement in the planning of that drill."

New Jersey Education Association spokesman Steve Wollmer said he was surprised the teachers union is named as a defendant.

"We had nothing to do with the planning of that drill," he said. "We were furious about it."

He said members of the union in the Phillipsburg School District were deeply affected by the incident.

Neither Phillipsburg school board President Kevin DeGerolamo nor Mayor Harry Wyant Jr. could be reached for comment.