HISD approves a move against shooters
Most trustees back a measure for more gear for police so they can better train for threats
Houston Independent School District trustees have approved a measure to buy 200 rifles, ammunition and 200 ballistic shields for the district’s police department, which Superintendent Millard House II said last week was not prepared with its current equipment to stop an active shooter.
Trustees voted 6-3 on the purchase Thursday evening after spending roughly an hour in closed executive session discussing the item and about 20 minutes of intense discussion from the dais. Trustee Dani Hernandez proposed postponing the measure by a week because she was “not willing” to proceed without more specific information. That effort, however, failed on a 6-3 vote.
Earlier in the meeting, about a dozen speakers urged the board to delay the vote or to vote no.
“I need more information about the broader safety plan for the district in general. At this time, I don’t believe I have all the information I need,” Hernandez said before the vote. “I don’t think that we have explored all options at this point — safety is essential for HISD.”
HISD Police Chief Pete Lopez told the board last week that he was confident in the training the police department had received but did “not have a lot of confidence in preparing our officers to encounter a suspect without the proper equipment.” The equipment to be purchased would be used to help with scenario-based training to learn how to respond to an active shooter threat.
“My officers are dedicated to our students and to our staff, and regardless if we have the equipment or not, we are still going to respond,” Lopez said after the vote. “This act tonight will allow us to respond in a safer manner.”
The police gear will be for specific situations and will not be items that police will walk around with, House said.
“The bigger issue here is ensuring that they have all the tools possible so that they can be as safe as possible,” House said,
“and provide the kind of safety that we want to provide on campuses.”
The purchase comes as schools across Texas and the nation assess their safety protocols after a May mass shooting in a Uvalde elementary school. The gunman, a former student, killed 19 children and two teachers before Border Patrol officers entered the classroom and killed him.
A Texas House committee investigating the police response found 376 officers rushed to the school but a disastrous series of communication breakdowns and other “systemic failures” led to that army of police standing down for more than an hour before the Border Patrol officers entered the classroom and killed the 18-year-old gunman.
Texas Education Agency officials told school systems to take various measures before school returns, including audits. HISD is working on completing its audit before its first day of school, Aug. 22.
Schools in Texas will also be expected to conduct weekly checks of exterior doors.
“I see the emotion on this dais, but there are no emotions like looking at your child in a casket,” said Trustee Kathy Blueford-Daniels, whose son was shot to death by a man who mistook him for another young man about 16 years ago. “If the chief will have enough ammunition to slow down someone coming in ... I’m all for it.”