As reported by DC News Now, the suggestion by the Panel, along with ten others, came with the endorsement of Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman, who suggested that the elementary schools should have SROs just like area secondary schools.
“If you had some sort of a major issue going on at the school, our deputies can immediately get the help that they need,” Sheriff Chapman said. “So, from a safety standpoint, it’s extremely important that we that we have school resource officers as opposed to unarmed security guards.”
Chapman told WJLA-TV, "The study that came out, the Blue-Ribbon study, talked specifically about the importance of security at all schools to include elementary schools, and the need for additional security personnel. The question is how do you staff that? For us, it makes sense to staff it with professionally trained certified law enforcement people in the sheriff’s office. We act as mentors with the kids. They get to know us. They don't look at us as the enemy. They look at us as a friend.
"Plus, we're there and we can be there should we have an act of violence and we have access to the entire emergency management system. And if you were to staff the schools with people less than that, not certified law enforcement professionals that are connected to the entire emergency response system, if you did have a chaotic situation, who knows where it would go, so that would be the problem. So I think it's important that we have all of our schools, all of our children protected and that the best way to do that is with sworn deputies.”
