We are less safe when police are around

In regards to Sunday's article titled, “Woman shot by Long Beach school officer to go off life support,” we must stop using the term “School Safety Officer” to refer to police officers in our schools. “Safety” is a misnomer: as every encounter with police has shown, we are less safe when they are around. Why? Because police carry deadly weapons (guns, tasers, batons, dogs); because they are sworn to a “code of silence” where they agree to remain silent when they witness other officers breaking the law and doing things they know to be wrong; because they enjoy “qualified immunity” which means they can hurt our children and kill our neighbors and not face any consequences for their heinous actions; and because of the police culture based on toxic masculinity and white supremacy. As this article shows, our children are at risk of being shot while police officers prowl the hallways and school grounds armed with guns and a lack of self-restraint. Our children will be safer once police officers are removed from our schools.

— Alicia Trider, Chico