Students at a school in Compton are in for a few changes when the new school year starts next Monday: the police officers that are stationed on the campus will now be authorized the keep semi-automatic AR-15 rifles in the trunks of their patrol cars while they’re working.
The school board approved a policy last month that allowed select campus police officers to purchase these rifles and keeps them in the cars in the event that the school is attacked by a shooter or even terrorists. They plan on training these chosen officers and letting them carry the weapons in their vehicles within the next month.
“The school police has been very notorious in the community and in reality has never had to shoot anyone before,” said Francisco Orozco, a recent Dominguez High School graduate and founder of the Compton Democratic Club. “So this escalation of weapons we feel is very unnecessary.”
Compton Unified Police Chief William Wu maintains, despite critics claiming that this new policy is excessive and unjustified, that the police can be helpless when faced with a mass attack, and that a rifle is necessary. Perpetrators in such cases, Wu claims, often where body armor that makes them impervious to small arm.
He also said that rifle’s such as the AR-15 are much more accurate. “Handguns you’d be lucky to hit accurately at 25 yards,” Wu said. “With a rifle in the hands of a trained person, you can be go 50, 100 yards accurately.”
Read more about the story at The Week.
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