Deputy assigned to Florida school 'never went in' during shooting, sheriff says

[Aguila Blanca]

That being said I expect this has to do with the "great leadership" from the Sheriff. My expectations are, for whatever reason, the SRO was reassigned because someone somewhere was no comfortable with him "on the streets" and the school job was viewed as a good fall back option. Go work with kids - like that is any easier. I will be curious to find out if we ever get any information on that front.

I was discussing this shooting last night with a friend I haven't talked about it with yet. I don't know where he got it, because I haven't seen this mentioned in any articles I've read, but my friend heard or read somewhere that Peterson was "partially retired" and that the SRO gig was just a way for him to keep receiving a paycheck and adding to his pension calculation.

Dunno. As I said, I have not seen this anywhere.

 

[Lohman446]

I should note my comment does not have any inside information on it or backing it. I was simply trying to figure out what could have resulted in multiple failures of this particular department including the SRO failing in one of the most central tasks of the job. As I think about it, again without any inside information, I am becoming more and more convinced it was a leadership issue.

 

[johnwilliamson062]

SRO failing in one of the most central tasks of the job.

I think this may be a misconception. SROs do more social work than most other police. They have to use a ton of discretion and be very reserved in what they pursue. They have to deal with both the politics of their police department and the school district. The finance may be justified saying the SRO is there to stop a school shooter, but once they show up to work their job is an intricate weave of social work and politics.

 

[Lohman446]

I think this may be a misconception. SROs do more social work than most other police. They have to use a ton of discretion and be very reserved in what they pursue. They have to deal with both the politics of their police department and the school district. The finance may be justified saying the SRO is there to stop a school shooter, but once they show up to work their job is an intricate weave of social work and politics

I get what you are saying. However these are not counter points to my original statement as I was careful to not argue it was the primary or only job. Those officers are armed for a reason and that reason does not involved the unarmed children, teachers, or other adults in the building. I'm not going to argue that the job is simple or that there is not a lot of social work done by a SRO. However he or she is armed for a reason and that reason is not social work.

 

[Lohman446]

Though John Williamson brings up an interesting thought. IF we arm teachers what duty does doing so imply? Is an armed teacher supposed to "take up the hunt" and move towards the sound of gunfire? Is he or she supposed to barricade him or herself with the children in a defensive position and only use that firearm should the barricaded position be threatened? When we discuss arming teachers do we expect them to be on "active" defense where they make movement against the shooter or in a more passive stance where they guard those "behind" them?

 

[rickyrick]

Armed teachers just gives another option... an optio that wasn’t there before. no guaranty that they will act any differently.

 

[manta49]

Are the police armed with rifles, if not why not. ?

 

[Lohman446]

Armed teachers just gives another option... an optio that wasn’t there before. no guaranty that they will act any differently.

Its fair to have a discussion about what duty will be assigned to armed teachers and how that duty will be differentiated from armed officers in an active shooter scenario.

 

[Marco Califo]

All police vehicles now include rifles, in addition to the rack mounted shotguns. Highway Patrol and Game Wardens, too.
It is possible that a stationary School officer (no vehicle), may not have ready access to a semi-auto rifle.

 

[manta49]

may not have ready access to a semi-auto rifle.

Why not carry rifles ready for use, they do here.

 

[danco]

All police vehicles now include rifles, in addition to the rack mounted shotguns. Highway Patrol and Game Wardens, too.

The Broward County deputies (including the SRD) did not have access to rifles but, apparently, will in the future, now that the horse has left the stable...

http://dailycaller.com/2018/02/25/broward-county-sheriff-wont-issue-his-deputies-long-guns-to-defend-public/

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-florida-school-shooting-broward-sheriff-20180221-story.html

 

[Aguila Blanca]

The Broward County deputies (including the SRD) did not have access to rifles but, apparently, will in the future, now that the horse has left the stable...

http://dailycaller.com/2018/02/25/br...defend-public/

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/br...221-story.html

Note the disclaimer -- those deputies "who are qualified" will carry rifles. No mention of how many are qualified. Prior to this announcement (which is now old news as of 6 March), I read that Broward County does not issue patrol rifles. Deputies who wanted to carry one had to provide their own. So the number of deputies immediately able to fulfill this new mandate may be rather limited.

 

[Marco Califo]

Manta, those odd photos are not U.S., and do not have any identifiable insignia. I personally would be alarmed to see those goons at a U.S. school. I also do not believe there is any reason to patrol schools with rifles drawn.
The effective solution we need is to keep guns away from violent headcases. We dont need AA guns in the back of pickup trucks either.

 

[Marco Califo]

California police of all denominations all got rifles either in patrol vehicle racks or locked in trunks, after the North Hollywood Shootout. BCSD must have been too amazed by their leader to be effectively armed.

 

[johnwilliamson062]

DOD will provide rifles free of charge. One per full time officer equivalent I believe.
Not every jurisdiction wants to have rifles. Many police are not gun people. Some struggle with their sidearms.

 

[rickyrick]

I saw a media accounting of the military equipment in police inventory of several departments around. This was back before everyone had distractions like having a president to bash and all the baggage of the election.
The flavor of the day was the militarization of police departments. People were all up in arms over it.

Anyway, the lists of weapons around the state was quite interesting. I was not expecting so many automatic rifles and grenade launchers.
I’m not opposed to them having weapons, I’d prefer less military looking uniforms.

But yeah, there’s lots of rifles.
.

 

[JohnKSa]

Hmm I guess im odd ball then because at 25 feet I see no advantage to landing shots with a long gun and am faster with a handgun and at that range I see no particular accurate advantage.. but I guess that's just me.

That's pretty impressive. I can't match that feat.

I can shoot a rifle from the hip as fast nearly as I can pull the trigger and at 10-15 yards, I can hit a small vertical target (say a 2" diameter pole) nearly every time with a rifle that doesn't have heavy recoil (223/5.56 or 7.62x39 etc.). If I shoot a pistol that fast, my accuracy isn't nearly as good, even if I use the sights.

And that's without getting into the lethality difference.

By the way, in case it's not clear, I'm not arguing that the SRO should get a pass. I think everyone, including the SRO knows that part of why he was there was to provide security to the occupants of the campus he was assigned to. Instead of running toward the shooter (as did some unarmed/untrained persons) to try to stop the carnage, he, in spite of his assignment, his training and his weapon, chose to take up a defensive position and wait for the shooting to stop.

 

[TomNJVA]

Two things need to be clarified before we pass judgement on the SRO:

1. What specifically was the SRO instructed or trained to do in the event of an active school shooter - if inside the school? If outside the school? We seem to be making a moral judgement that he had an obligation to enter the school and confront the shooter, but is that valid if it conflicts with his instructions and training?

2. What did the SRO know or believe at the time? He claims that he believed the shooter was outside of the school. If so, was he justified in taking up a position outside the school? Is it wise to run into a huge school building/complex if the shooter is outside? Again, what was he trained to do in various scenarios?

 

[danco]

I’m not opposed to them having weapons, I’d prefer less military looking uniforms.

This is a big beef with me, too. Pick a color: black, blue, khaki, olive. Leave the camo BDU's at home.

You're police, sworn to protect and serve Citizens who are innocent until proven guilty; you're not combat soldiers in a weapons-free environment who need to hide and blend in.

 

[manta49]

Manta, those odd photos are not U.S., and do not have any identifiable insignia. I personally would be alarmed to see those goons at a U.S. school. I also do not believe there is any reason to patrol schools with rifles drawn.

They are not in schools, they are UK police hardly goons as the number of police involved shootings in the UK compared with America will show. You can not expect police to go into situations if they are not properly equipped for the job, going up agonist a shooter armed with a rifle, with a handgun is not a good idea.

The effective solution we need is to keep guns away from violent headcases.

How do you do that. ?