LOS LUNAS, N.M. — Desi Garcia, the director of safety and security for Los Lunas Schools, proposed a policy in a school board meeting on Feb. 1 that would allow School Resource Officers (SROs) to carry guns. Garcia claims that the policy would give officers the ability to better protect students in dangerous situations.
The school board is asking for public input on the policy, News-Bulletin.com reports. Garcia told the news source that identifying potentially violent people is hard to do, and that officers are better off being prepared for the worst instead of trying to stop incidents before they happen.
Critics believe that arming SROs could create a potentially dangerous situation, especially if a student is able to wrestle a gun away from an officer. During the meeting, Sgt. Robert Ferrarri of the Los Lunas police SWAT team demonstrated the effectiveness of the latches and locks on a holster that would prevent such an incident.
The SROs are fully trained police officers. They are state certified by the Department of Public Safety and have all attended a police academy.
