Galena Park, Texas (KTRK) – It’s something we all think about after the Uvalde school shooting, but Galena Park ISD is back in session and not waiting for lawmakers to discuss changes to school security.
The district takes matters into its own hands, deciding what they feel provides the best protection for its students and staff.
“Two things. I want that deputy inside, and I want that car outside, so that anyone who comes in from here knows there’s an armed officer there. But it’s important that we have someone there, who can respond right away, to the threat that’s going on,” said GPISD Police Chief Brian Clements. .
Watch previous story: Galena Park ISD to add more school officers 3 weeks after mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde
While other districts have discussed the financial cost of adding officers on campus, GPISD has not. They lobbied the Court of Commissioners to fill 19 new positions in the District Police Department. Now, every campus has a full-time employee on-site.
“We know these situations happen, and they happen very quickly. And to have someone on site, rather than wasting a minute or two, responding, and making sure that someone is there, can respond immediately to that threat,” Clements said.
ABC13 asked the National School Security Adviser if bringing more guns to campus was the right answer. He agreed, saying that a trained officer provides immediate protection.
See also: HISD asks school board to fund police equipment for active responses to attack
“They have been trained to respond and deal with an active shooter. They have the means of communication available, we don’t. They have a radio and if they say active shooter, they get all the support they need,” said Patrick Vail of PVF Security Consulting.
And for Galena Park ISD, President Clements said there was only one reason the district decided to spend the extra money on armed campus officers in the new age we live in. “Our parents send us their most valuable possessions every day, and we have a responsibility to keep them safe and take care of them,” Clements said.
For more information on this story, follow Eric Barajas FacebookAnd the Twitter And the Instagram.
Copyright © 2022 KTRK-TV. All rights reserved.
.
[ad_2]
