More details on Hotchkiss trespasser

LAKEVILLE — While Bucky the Bearcat may serve as The Hotchkiss School’s beloved mascot, a police dog was certainly the hero on the night of Thursday, Aug. 31.

As proctors, new student orientation leaders and varsity athletes were settling into their dorms [the majority of the students arrived at school on Sunday, Sept. 2], the campus safety and security team detected an unusual visitor on campus during their night patrol. 

Just before midnight, a strange vehicle was found in the main circle. The man in the vehicle, Alexander Gimpelson, complied when asked by a patrolling security guard to leave campus. However, the car was found again by another officer after the midnight shift change, parked near the loading dock of the main building. 

At that point, “[the officer] became immediately concerned, and made the decision to call the State Police,” said Joaquin Aymerich, director of campus safety and security. “The first [security] officer had identified the individual [as having a criminal record for kidnapping], so when the state police got here, they decided that they wanted to get additional officers on campus and start doing a thorough search.”  

While waiting for the State Police, dorm faculty conducted bed checks for the entire campus, and all students were accounted for.

A campus search with a police dog was initiated when the state troopers arrived. A more focused examination of Redlich dorm was conducted by an armed police officer after an exterior door was found ajar. 

This search was suspended when Gimpelson was  found on the back porch of Harris House, the school admissions office. He was then arrested and charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct and attempted burglary.

After the incident, the school received a wave of publicity, which included many inaccurate reports of the story. 

Multiple publications wrote that the arrest happened on the porch of a girls dorm, and articles reported different locations for Gimpelson’s parked car. Currently, the Campus Safety and Security office whiteboard features a large notice instructing officers who answer the phone to direct press inquiries to Hellen Hom-Diamond, chief communications officer, indicative of the volume of calls to the office last week.

Though the press has highlighted the threat presented by Gimpelson, Art Gibb, dean of community life, emphasized “the extremely professional and effective response” of faculty and staff. 

In an email sent to the community after the event, he said, “Our Hotchkiss Security team’s alertness and quick response ensured a quick resolution to this incident and ensured the safety of everyone on campus. 

“I would also like to thank the dean of residential life for her decisiveness in ordering the bed check to ensure we had accounted for all the students on campus; and the dorm faculty who conducted the bed checks in the middle of the night. I am very proud to be part of such a dedicated and devoted team of professionals.”

This article by Zoe Bank, editor in chief of The Hotchkiss School’s student publication, originally ran in the Sept. 6 issue of The Hotchkiss Record. This article has been slightly edited from the original version.