I Run a Security Business on Park Ave. We’re Getting More Requests.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tom Buda, the owner of a private security business in New York, following a fatal shooting at a Midtown office building. It’s been edited for length and clarity.

After Monday’s shooting at an office building in Midtown Manhattan, I immediately started getting calls from clients asking for additional security. First, I checked that everyone I work with was OK. Then, I worked most of the night to add security to different sites.

By Tuesday afternoon, I had about 12 calls from new clients for increased security through at least Friday.

I run Buda Security, a private security business on Park Avenue that I founded in 1998, 14 years after I joined the New York City Police Department. After I retired from the NYPD in 2005, I worked with the UN in various security roles until 2018. Then I focused on my security business.

I have clients working near 345 Park Ave., the building that the shooter targeted. We do private and corporate security, special events, executive protection, hotels, residential buildings, and events in the city.

Since the UnitedHealth CEO was shot last year, existing clients and new clients have decided to spend more money on security drivers and security for their CEOs.

How private security officers work with companies

Security for an office building can sometimes get boring and quiet. We train our guards not to be complacent and remind them that something like what happened on Monday could happen at any moment.

We tell our team to be proactive. You can check your phone, but don’t look at it for a long period of time. Go to the door and look outside. We tell them to check the Citizen App. Many of our guys are either active or retired NYPD or federal agents, so they have contacts in the precinct and can reach out to assess any news.

In a bigger office building like the one targeted on Monday, companies will usually employ their own security at the desk that checks people in with appointments. We are typically called out to supplement their unarmed security when there is a threat. We have unarmed security, too. Our guards are usually in the office or outside the building, rather than in the lobby.

Planning for an active shooter

In an active shooter situation, we will use the force necessary to stop the threat. For our armed people, deadly force may be appropriate and necessary.

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When it comes to our employees, we check their training prior to hiring. All of our armed personnel are either active or former law enforcement officers or have special training. They are trained by the law enforcement agency they’ve come from on how to engage with an active shooter. Even though we don’t only hire active or retired law enforcement, they get priority.

Also, clients will sometimes hire us alongside an off-duty detail officer, who is also paid by the company. The uniformed NYPD officer who was killed on Monday had been hired in the building as security.

Every client should have a plan for dealing with these kinds of situations, from locking the building down to shutting off the elevators. Contingency planning is everything.

The Midtown shooting and the UnitedHealth shooting are a wake-up call

The main question I have about the Manhattan shooting is how the active shooter got so high and far into the building. I think after this shooting and the UnitedHealth CEO shooting, threats are going to be handled differently.

Many changes could be made to prevent a shooter from getting far into a building. For example, buildings can add turnstiles that might slow down people getting into elevator banks or funnel them into a narrow area where they can be filmed or observed by a security guard.

Corporate security directors, store owners, and anyone with employees are responsible for understanding how important security is. Although incidents like this may only happen a couple of times a year, preparation can make a difference.