Immediate action was necessary at Rise Up; more school shootings devastate communities
Re: “Principal says cops drew guns in search for student,” May 17 news story; “Officer shoots armed former student at Illinois high school,” May 17 nation briefs.
What is wrong with this picture? Rise Up Community School complains about police in schools. This week in Dixon, Ill., a police officer was in a shootout in a school hallway. Today in Texas, several people were killed at a school and police arrested the shooter.
Police officers enter these and other situations in order to save lives and protect the community. The officers do not stop at the office and ask for a “hall pass” nor do they become involved in the laborious task of finding a judge and securing a search warrant. Situations like these demand immediate action.
The DPS superintendent, the principal, the faculty, students and their families should thank the officers for their devotion to duty and willingness to risk their lives to protect an ungrateful segment of the population. The Post article describes the school as having about 110 students who are there “because of previous struggles in traditional schools.” Perhaps the school is not providing the necessary guidance and example for these students to learn from and overcome their strug- gles. The families of the hundreds of students murdered over the years would be grateful for timely police intervention. Thomas P. Haney Jr., Retired Denver Police Department Division Chief