34 | NOVEMBER 30 • 2023 
J
N

S

oon after the Oct. 7 
terror attack on Israel, 
the Auburn Hills Police 
Department reached out to the 
Chabad Jewish Center of Troy 
to offer assistance.
“They have been extremely 
helpful in protecting our 
center,” said Rabbi Menachem 
Caytak, director of the center 
at 3306 Auburn Road. “They 
have been such a blessing for 
our community!”
The Auburn Hills police are 
planning a training program 
to teach those affiliated with 
the Chabad center what to do 
if confronted with an active 
shooter and how to handle 
bleeding. They will also 
recommend ways to make the 
facility more secure and station 
a patrol outside whenever there 
is a program at the center.
Brian Miller, community 
engagement officer for 
the Auburn Hills Police 
Department, happens to be the 

only Jewish officer on the force. 
One of his responsibilities 
is partnering with schools, 
religious institutions and 
businesses in the city on their 
emergency preparedness and 
training needs.
Miller also helps businesses 
and organizations identify 
security concerns. He said 
after the Oct. 7 attack, Kristen 
Hollenbeck from 
Jewish Community 
Security Inc. asked 
him to contact 
Rabbi Caytak to 
discuss the center’s 
safety needs. “I have 
been working with 
Chabad since,” he 
said.
Miller was trained 
in the CRASE 
platform (Civilian Response 
to Active Shooter Events), part 
of the Texas State University 
Advanced Law Enforcement 
Rapid Response Training. 

“The CRASE training takes 
about an hour and a half and 
explores not just physically 
what to do in an emergency 
but also how most people 
react under the stresses of the 
emergency and how to defeat 
certain biases,” he said. 
“Stop the Bleed” teaches 
emergency bleeding control 
measures: pressure, packing 
and tourniquet.
Miller, who lives 
in Farmington Hills 
and is a member 
of Temple Shir 
Shalom, monitors 
information on 
all the houses of 
worship in Auburn 
Hills, including 
times of high 
occupancy at 
services, classes and programs 
when the department assigns 
officers to provide an extra 
presence.
The Chabad Jewish Center 

of Troy has engaged with more 
than 800 Jewish families on the 
east side of Oakland County, 
including those who live or 
work in Troy, Rochester Hills 
and Auburn Hills, said Caytak, 
who lives near the center in 
Troy with his wife, Chana, and 
their four daughters, Chaya 
Mushka, 4, Rochel, 3, Sara, and 
Hudi, 7 months. 
In addition to services, the 
center offers a Hebrew school, 
teen programs, a club for 
Oakland University students 
and “events aimed at bringing 
the Jewish community together 
in an engaging and Jewish 
way,” Caytak said. 
“For most of our families, 
this is the first encounter 
with Judaism and the Jewish 
community, and with 
everything happening in 
Israel, and all the antisemitism 
throughout the world, people 
are visibly shaken,” he added.
“Many people and families 

OUR COMMUNITY

Local police help Troy Chabad center with security.
Good Neighbors

BARBARA LEWIS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Officer Brian Miller

Rabbi Caytak with Officer 
Brian Miller from the Auburn 
Hills Police Department 
and Zev Haas, a community 
member from Auburn Hills.

