Florida School Hires Combat Veterans To Patrol Campus To Prevent Mass Shootings

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Slartibartfast
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Florida School Hires Combat Veterans To Patrol Campus To Prevent Mass Shootings

Post by Slartibartfast »

i think this is a great idea, police have no business at schools.



Florida School Hires Combat Veterans To Patrol Campus To Prevent Mass Shootings


https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fl ... d543170018

Thursday is the first anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Now a school in Palmetto is trying to make sure a similar tragedy doesn’t happen there.

By the end of this month, the Manatee School for the Arts will have hired two combat veterans whose sole job is to patrol the campus with semiautomatic rifles and stop any active shooters.

Bill Jones, the school’s principal, hopes publicizing the new hires will deter anyone who might be thinking about shooting up the school.

“If someone walks onto this campus, they’re going to be shot and killed,” he told the Bradenton Herald. “We’re not going to talk with them. We’re not going to negotiate. We are going to put them down, as quickly as possible.”

In the aftermath of the Parkland shooting, many Florida schools tightened their security.

The Manatee School for the Arts is a charter school that’s allowed to make its own rules about security. Officials chose to have the school guardians carry both a handgun and a military-style long gun, according to local station WWSB TV.

Jones said it’s important the guardians have the tools to take down a shooter on their own.

“We’ve had a couple of incidents and we just called and they’re here in three minutes,” Jones told the station. “Unfortunately, you look at parkland and in three minutes how many people were killed. So you know you can’t expect much more from the police, there’s only so much they can do and the rest of it is your responsibility.”

But Jones’ plan is getting some backlash from security experts like Walt Zalisko, a retired police chief who now owns a Daytona Beach–based global investigative group and police management consulting business.

“You don’t walk around with an assault rifle strapped to your chest in a school. That is not the normal policy of police agencies,” he told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

He said school guardians are more effective when they engage with students and form positive relationships rather than focus only on stopping mass shootings — which, while tragic, are relatively rare.

“His job is to protect the kids, and he can do that with a handgun, but it is also to form positive relationships,” Zalisko said. “Develop information on who may have drugs or weapons. There is a lot involved.”

Manatee’s first hire, a combat veteran with 15 years of infantry experience, has been on campus for a couple of months.
Another guardian, also a combat vet, will begin working this month after he completes the required 132 hours of firearm safety and proficiency training, according to The New York Times.

Jones told the paper he wanted guards who have experience with being shot at and won’t hesitate to go after an active shooter.

Although Jones said “most parents have been very accepting,” the school is hoping to quell safety concerns by requiring the guardians to keep the chambers of the rifles empty. In addition, the guns are not stored on campus.

You can see a segment on the school’s guardians in the video below:
[youtube]lmSYU8is-cY[/youtube]
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rentprop1
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Post by rentprop1 »

It won't be long before these guys are sitting in the breakroom having coffee with her feet up with the school resource officers.

Armed security guards would do 10 times a better job than uniformed police officers at schools... when we had the problem with the rowdy kids when I lived in Cooper City across from that middle school trying to get anything from Broward sheriff's office was a complete joke.... the school resource officer actually left at 3 every day when school let out... every fight that happened, occured a few minutes after that across the street from the school...
The security guards don't need to have arrest Powers they just need to pay attention and secure the school.
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Skoll
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Post by Skoll »

rentprop1 wrote: Mon Feb 11, 2019 10:22 pm It won't be long before these guys are sitting in the breakroom having coffee with her feet up with the school resource officers.

Armed security guards would do 10 times a better job than uniformed police officers at schools... when we had the problem with the rowdy kids when I lived in Cooper City across from that middle school trying to get anything from Broward sheriff's office was a complete joke.... the school resource officer actually left at 3 every day when school let out... every fight that happened, occured a few minutes after that across the street from the school...
The security guards don't need to have arrest Powers they just need to pay attention and secure the school.
When I was looking into SRO jobs over the summer in my area, the list of shit they wanted was actually pretty nuts. Far outside the realm of whats required of a typical armed security job. The way shit was listed, it sounded geared towards retired LEOs only.
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lakelandman
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Post by lakelandman »

Yeah I look into it as well and they want your shooting score to be better than a LEO but not pay you what a LEO was making.
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rentprop1
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Post by rentprop1 »

lakelandman wrote: Tue Feb 12, 2019 1:16 am Yeah I look into it as well and they want your shooting score to be better than a LEO but not pay you what a LEO was making.
yep that's pretty much a MUST HIT target kinda scenario, I think that's why a lot of responding officers don't charge in blasting, the fallout for clipping some nerdy kid in all black, cowering in a corner, holding his science project... would be disastrous

another plus for school uniforms, even teachers, easier to spot your target, hell thats why the military usually wears the same color ....duh :roll:
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Skoll
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Post by Skoll »

I mean, lets be honest here; Shooting better than a cop is not hard. At all. We're talking about a career where the vast majority of people only use their firearms to quarterly qualify.

That being said, the biggest hump for SRO jobs seems to be that they ONLY want people with LEO experience. This one example of a former combat vet seems to be the exception to the rule that I've seen in Palm Beach County when it comes to SRO applications.
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Post by Chigger »

Shooting better than a police officer (usually determined by dept policy or state standards) is not tough. It's also why many officers spend their own time and money getting better trained.

It's the heading into live fire and being able to react without thinking or pissing yourself is what seperates the general patrol cop from the esu/swat cop who train in that senario which is why the standard trained police officers are inadequately trained for live fire confrontational situations.

It all boils down to money. Depts try and compensate with military style gear and a tough guy persona, but the truth is one well trained combat vet could take on a couple dozen street cops and come out on top.

It's why this school principle preferred combat vets. Not that they are trained that much better, but paper targets don't shoot back and until one has experienced hostile live fire, the fight or flight reflex hasn't been fully developed.
As we saw at MSD, the flight response was in full bloom.

Human nature always leans toward self preservation. You have to be trained to over come that. It's not hard but it's repetitive to give you the thought that you have the edge to come out alive, your superior to any force you may encounter.
The other thing that helps is having a squad or platoon of like minded crazy bastards breaking down hells gate with you.
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Iosef
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Post by Iosef »

Chigger wrote: Tue Feb 12, 2019 11:58 am Shooting better than a police officer (usually determined by dept policy or state standards) is not tough. It's also why many officers spend their own time and money getting better trained.

It's the heading into live fire and being able to react without thinking or pissing yourself is what seperates the general patrol cop from the esu/swat cop who train in that senario which is why the standard trained police officers are inadequately trained for live fire confrontational situations.

It all boils down to money. Depts try and compensate with military style gear and a tough guy persona, but the truth is one well trained combat vet could take on a couple dozen street cops and come out on top.
Agree completely. If you're going to climb on the school security bandwagon, then hire people who are dedicated to putting the active shooter DOWN NOW, not people who are trained to observe the rights of suspects and avoid damaging evidence.
Cubanstang50
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Post by Cubanstang50 »

I have gotten flack for this before. I dont agree that a veteran should be the one guarding the school. Why? Well, alot of freaking veterans cant fucking shoot!!! Lol, is knowing that there is person with a gun in school a deterrent? Yea i believe this will work. But you are paying this veteran pennies compared to a cops salary. Also what type of training and standard are you providing?
TC6969
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Post by TC6969 »

Cubanstang50 wrote: Tue Feb 12, 2019 8:51 pm I have gotten flack for this before. I dont agree that a veteran should be the one guarding the school. Why? Well, alot of freaking veterans cant fucking shoot!!!
A lot of freaking veterans who were destined for clerical or culinary MOSs were given about 15 minutes of training and barely know which end the bullet comes out of.

I personally know two of them who admitted it.

That's why its always bugged the crap out of me that the state of Florida will hand a veteran a concealed weapons permit based just on the fact that they possess a DD214.
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