To Arm Or Not To Arm Teachers? Law Enforcement Has Their Thoughts

LOWNDES and WEBSTER COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – It seems almost everyone can agree that schools need to be safer, but how we get there is where the disagreement begins.

In Mississippi, amended House Bill 1083 could allow teachers to voluntarily arm themselves in the classroom.

Wednesday night, we heard from two teachers who had very different opinions.

Tonight, we talk to law enforcement.

Arming teachers is a hot topic on the national stage and in Mississippi.

The Governor and President support the measure, but those who would rush in to confront an active shooter have some concerns.

When Webster County Investigator Landon Griffin thinks about how to better protect schools, his mind swirls with possibilities, but not one definitive solution.

“I don’t know the answer. I really don’t. I want to make our schools secure. I want to make our schools safe, you know, such as a phrase we heard earlier, we secure banks, we secure our money, you know? Try to walk up and walk in a vault at a bank and see what happens, you know, but you can walk in the front door of a school any day, all day.”

The longtime lawman believes other security measures should be in place before a teacher holsters a gun, while reading a lesson to students.

“To directly go from not having a firearm, to yeah let’s put a gun in the classroom, because then you have a gun in the classroom. You don’t have to bring one. You don’t have to do anything, there’s already a gun in the classroom.”

Many in law enforcement are also concerned about how they’ll be able to figure out if the person holding a gun in a hallway is a teacher, a concerned parent or an active shooter.

“Our main objective when we go into a school is to neutralize whatever threat is in that school at the that time. Whether it be take them down, whether it be use our firearms, whatever we have to do to take care of that threat is what we’re taught to do,” says Griffin.

Officers want to be able to identify armed teachers, should this bill pass.

Right now, the legislation only requires 12 hours of training every two years.

Lowndes County TACT Team Commander Archie Williams isn’t opposed to teachers packing.

However, he says there must be more training in place.

“If you’re going to take the chance to put yourself in the situation, you’ve got to be ready to handle that situation and also understand that there are children and bystanders around and you have to account for everything you do when you arm yourself.”

No one knows how they’ll react when confronted with a gunman, but Williams believes real world scenarios can help.

“We train weekly, all the time, to handle situations like that. It needs to be stepped up in my opinion.”

The bill is now on its way to the Senate.