Oxford Police Chief Approves Of Arming School Teachers
Oxford Police (Facebook)
This has people in town talking. Oxford’s Police Chief Anthony Saad may be in favor of teachers carrying weapons in class after the recent school shooting on Valentine’s Day in Parkland, Florida.
During a presentation at this week’s Board of Selectmen meeting, Chief Saad explained to those in attendance what Oxford is doing to protect its students.
Police response tactics have changed dramatically from the Columbine shooting in 1999. First responding officers no longer wait for SWAT teams to arrive before entering the school. Officers now are expected to try to eliminate the threat as soon as possible in order to try to save lives.
Currently, all Oxford police cruisers have the equipment needed to make an entrance if an incident occurred in town, even during a school lockdown.
But, should teachers be carrying weapons in class? Chief Saad told the Telegram & Gazette that he is not against the idea of teachers who are licensed, competent, capable, trained individuals carrying a firearm in school, but he doesn’t believe all teachers should if they are not comfortable with it.
Some of the Selectman at the presentation brought up the potential problem of a student or intruder gaining access to the gun, but supporters of the idea think being armed could help prevent others from coming into the school with weapons in the first place.
There are no plans at this time to arm teachers in Oxford, but it seems that if other school districts start to, it could become reality.
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