More Berks County schools moving to armed security
Berk County PA February 20 2019
Patrolling the hallways of Boyertown Middle School West with a handgun holstered at his side, Rafael Perez is at ease.
“I feel like I am more equipped to protect the students,” Perez said regarding the Boyertown School Board’s recent approval of a policy allowing school police officers to carry weapons.
Perez, who spent 20 years with Allentown police, has been working as a school police officer in Boyertown schools for a dozen years — unarmed, until now.
“I didn’t really like it when I was not armed,” Perez said. “I felt like if anything happened, I would be running away with students and teachers. I would not want to run. My job is to protect the students, and now I am better equipped to do my job.”
Thursday was the first anniversary of the Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. On that day, a gunman with a semiautomatic rifle opened fire, killing 17 students and staff members and injuring 17 others.
Nikolas Cruz has been charged in the massacre.
The Florida killings prompted Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf to allocate $60 million in grants to school districts to ramp up security programs, including hiring armed police and mental health counselors. The grants are expected to be awarded in spring by the state Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
In January, two Berks County districts, Boyertown and Conrad Weiser, implemented policies to arm school security officers and authorized use of lethal force.
Other area districts with full-time armed officers include Gov. Mifflin and Wilson in Berks County, Pottstown and Pottsgrove in Montgomery County and Owen J. Roberts in Chester County.
The Tamaqua School District in Schuylkill County took things a step further, agreeing to allow teachers and other school employees to carry district-issued firearms after obtaining training.
However, the controversial move was put on hold in January, pending the outcome of court challenges from parents and the Tamaqua Area Education Association, the district’s teachers union.
Schuylkill County Court on Monday dismissed the complaint filed by the union, allowing the union 20 days to provide additional facts.
Frank Wentzel, president of the association, said the union plans to provide additional information to the court, explaining why arming school personnel with firearms poses a danger.
In Boyertown, Dr. Dana T. Bedden, superintendent, said updates to the security policy had begun before he joined the district in August. The main impetus was the Parkland school shooting, along with rumors on social media about possible threats in the Boyertown district.
Boyertown’s policy allows trained security to use force when there is a threat of death or serious harm. The policy is similar to one implemented by Gov. Mifflin in 2015.
“At the end of the day, we hope he (Perez) never has to use” lethal force, Bedden said, noting that it’s better to be prepared to react rather than run away if there is a threat of violence.
The district also is working to provide more staff members training in mental health and trauma so they are are equipped to spot potential threats before they occur.
“Boyertown is highly committed to teaching its staff,” Bedden said. “Stagnation is regression. We need to continue to improve.”
Boyertown, which has about 7,000 students attending 10 schools in Berks and Montgomery counties, might hire a second armed officer, Bedden said, noting that the district is served by state police and municipal police departments in the two counties.
“All of the police departments in our district endorse the arming of school security officers,” he said.
Bedden is not a proponent of arming teachers.
In Pennsylvania, the law requires school police officers to have graduated from a municipal police academy or a state police academy.
School police officers, like Perez, by law are authorized to file summary offenses including disorderly conduct, harassment and theft. If a school incident results in a higher-level offense, such as rape or assault, the incident is referred to the municipal or state police covering the area where the school is located.
However, there are also school resource officers who work for municipal governments and are assigned to schools and have authority to file charges for all types of crimes.
Reading Eagle
