Officers at California schools issued high-powered rifles
FONTANA, Calif. (AP) - The semiautomatic rifles look like they belong in a war zone instead of a suburban public school, but officials in this Los Angeles-area city say the high-powered weapons now in the hands of school police could prevent a massacre.
Fontana Unified School District police purchased 14 of the Colt LE6940 rifles last fall, and they were delivered the first week of December - a week before the Connecticut school shooting. Over the holiday break, the district's 14 school police officers received 40 hours of training on the rifles. Officers check them out for each shift from a fireproof safe in the police force's main office.
Fontana isn't the first district to try this. Other Southern California districts also have rifle programs - some that have been in operation for several years. Fontana school police Chief Billy Green said he used money from fingerprinting fees to purchase the guns for $14,000 after identifying a "critical vulnerability" in his force's ability to protect students. The officers, who already wear sidearms, wouldn't be able to stop a shooter like the one in Connecticut, he said Wednesday.
"They're not walking around telling kids, 'Hurry up and get to class' with a gun around their neck," the chief said. "Parents need to know that if there was a shooter on their child's campus that was equipped with body armor or a rifle, we would be limited in our ability to stop that threat to their children."
Some parents and students, however, reacted with alarm to the news that school resource officers were being issued the rifles during their shifts. The officers split their time among 44 schools in the district and keep the rifles in a safe at their assigned school or secured in their patrol car each day before checking the weapon back in to the school police headquarters each night.
Only sergeants trained for years to use the rifles are authorized to check out the rifles from the police armory, where they are kept.
Still, James Henriquez, 16, a sophomore who just enrolled at Fontana High School this week after moving from Texas, was wary.
"If the wrong person gets ahold of the gun, then we have another shooter going around with a gun. What happens then?" he asked.
Other students said they felt disillusioned that officials would spend money on semiautomatic rifles while the district eliminated its comprehensive guidance counseling program two years ago.
"They should get guns, but not as many and not spend so much money on them," said student Elizabeth Tovar. "They should use the money to get back our counselors because a lot of us really need them."
The district saved millions by restructuring guidance services, said Superintendent Cali Olsen-Binks.
The 40,000-student district came up with the school rifle program after consulting with top school safety experts and looking at what other large districts had done, said Olsen-Binks.
Santa Ana Unified School District, in nearby Orange County, has had a rifle program for about two years that operates similarly to the one Fontana has started, said police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
The Los Angeles School Police Department also deploys rifles to its officers as needed, the department said in a statement. It would not say how many rifles district police have but said the weapons are kept in the department's armory and are handed out and returned daily.
"I came from a teaching background, and it's appalling to think that we'd have to have security officers - let alone armed police officers - on our campuses," Olsen-Binks said. "But the bottom line is ... everybody has anxiety over school safety right now."
Fontana Unified School District police purchased 14 of the Colt LE6940 rifles last fall, and they were delivered the first week of December - a week before the Connecticut school shooting. Over the holiday break, the district's 14 school police officers received 40 hours of training on the rifles. Officers check them out for each shift from a fireproof safe in the police force's main office.
Fontana isn't the first district to try this. Other Southern California districts also have rifle programs - some that have been in operation for several years. Fontana school police Chief Billy Green said he used money from fingerprinting fees to purchase the guns for $14,000 after identifying a "critical vulnerability" in his force's ability to protect students. The officers, who already wear sidearms, wouldn't be able to stop a shooter like the one in Connecticut, he said Wednesday.
"They're not walking around telling kids, 'Hurry up and get to class' with a gun around their neck," the chief said. "Parents need to know that if there was a shooter on their child's campus that was equipped with body armor or a rifle, we would be limited in our ability to stop that threat to their children."
Some parents and students, however, reacted with alarm to the news that school resource officers were being issued the rifles during their shifts. The officers split their time among 44 schools in the district and keep the rifles in a safe at their assigned school or secured in their patrol car each day before checking the weapon back in to the school police headquarters each night.
Only sergeants trained for years to use the rifles are authorized to check out the rifles from the police armory, where they are kept.
Still, James Henriquez, 16, a sophomore who just enrolled at Fontana High School this week after moving from Texas, was wary.
"If the wrong person gets ahold of the gun, then we have another shooter going around with a gun. What happens then?" he asked.
Other students said they felt disillusioned that officials would spend money on semiautomatic rifles while the district eliminated its comprehensive guidance counseling program two years ago.
"They should get guns, but not as many and not spend so much money on them," said student Elizabeth Tovar. "They should use the money to get back our counselors because a lot of us really need them."
The district saved millions by restructuring guidance services, said Superintendent Cali Olsen-Binks.
The 40,000-student district came up with the school rifle program after consulting with top school safety experts and looking at what other large districts had done, said Olsen-Binks.
Santa Ana Unified School District, in nearby Orange County, has had a rifle program for about two years that operates similarly to the one Fontana has started, said police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
The Los Angeles School Police Department also deploys rifles to its officers as needed, the department said in a statement. It would not say how many rifles district police have but said the weapons are kept in the department's armory and are handed out and returned daily.
"I came from a teaching background, and it's appalling to think that we'd have to have security officers - let alone armed police officers - on our campuses," Olsen-Binks said. "But the bottom line is ... everybody has anxiety over school safety right now."
As others have said 5.56Â is a weak cartridge compared to most rifles. Please correct the lead, and the headline. In most states this cartridge is not legal to hunt with because of it's relatively low power. The military switched -from- the high powered .308 cartridge to this one (basically .223 caliber) because studies showed .223 caused battlefield injuries which took more resources out of battle then the more immediately lethal (and heavier to supply) .308. Please correct the error.
Who wrote this headline? 556X45 is NOT a high powered round.
 @Iarehere Actually, 5.56x45 technically is a high powered round, but not how the media portrays it.  In this case, power refers to velocity, and this round has very high velocity at around 3000fps.  This has nothing to do with stopping power or killing effectiveness.  The term was created decades ago as a way to distinguish older black powder rifle cartridges from newer smokeless cartridges which were capable of much higher velocities.  For example, the "low power" .45-70 cartridge has a velocity of only around 1300fps, but it is still more than capable of killing any animal on the planet.  Basically, any rifle that uses a modern centerfire rifle cartridge is considered a high powered rifle.  The media recently hijacked the term as it makes the weapon sound more evil.  The 5.56x45 cartridge was intended to be an intermediate power cartridge, essentially placing the power between that of a pistol and that of a rifle, so it is on the low end of the spectrum among high powered rifles.  Enough geekery for now.
He's my school counselor!! http://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=170&p=1750#p1783
Forget .223, I want one of these!!! http://gearsofguns.com/fime-group-launches-release-of-sgl12-09-saiga-shotgun/
 @dhsea206 I might have to get me one of those!
No point in comparing money for guns with counselor jobs. 1 fully loaded salary is at least 80-100K. Spending 14K for 14 officers' arms is a fraction of that.
 @Komo Dragon 1K per rifle is a damn good deal, So it's not like they over paid either.
I think that it is a good idea to arm school officers who patrol schools with rifles such as these... I always say its better to be safe than sorry! I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Good, maybe this will help make the next generation to not be afraid of seeing the big bad black rifles!
 @DarkParty I'd suggest we require lawmakers to take one day of introduction to firearms at the range. A qualified instructor let's them handle 5 different types, i.e. revolver, semi-automatic handgun like a Glock, a 12 gauge, a bolt action Remmington, and an AR15. Several women have commented liking the AR as a self-defense weapon, for the ease of handling and accuracy. I am convinced, after a day with guns, many of the perceptions could be corrected. Â
@Komo Dragon As a woman and a veteran expert marksman, I do have to say that I also like the AR. In fact, Cabela's has a couple different variations of the ARÂ that I really like. As a self-defense weapon though, no. I'll stick with my 9m. Not so bulky and much easier to manage.
 @Iconoclast  @Tattooed_Angel plus, if you have more than one attacker, the rifle adds more deterrent humpf to the situation - maybe no shots need to be fired
 @Tattooed_Angel For suburbs and urban, yes. Rural, maybe not as absolute.
@Iconoclast @Komo Dragon In the instance of school security, a rifle is the way to go. For HOME defense, I think a pistol is a much better choice.
 @Komo Dragon I certainly would prefer that someone was armed with an accurate rifle as well as a pistol. In most people's hands under stress a pistol is wildly inaccurate at anything more than 2-3 yards away. If these guards need to stop an attacker at any sort of distance (e.g. 20 yards away) I would much rather they used a rifle.
 @Tattooed_Angel  @Komo I guess if your target is further out than 10-15 yds it's easier to hit with a rifle, for a regular non-expert marksman that is ;-)
 @Komo Dragon That's a good idea, Anyone who proposes legislation banning any firearm should have to take a class on that firearm before they can move forward.
 @DarkParty Paint them pink and let the cheerleaders start a shooting team.  Charge for administration cause those events will be backed.  I wish my school had ROTC or something similar.
 @APenny4MyThoughts http://www.riflegear.com/blogimages/KittyRifle.jpg
@APenny4MyThoughts @DarkParty They have pink ones. They are actually really cute!
Hi power....
I think its kind of nebulus, but it has something to do with a ratio of velocity and the weight/size of the projectile.
If the President's kids can have a few Secret Service agents in their schools, who are probably packing as much or more serious "heat", then my kids should be afforded the same, or even better, protection.
 @cawlnaduckaduck Conversely, we should sign the White House petition requesting that the White House be designated a gun-free zone. Otherwise Obama's children are at risk being around so many firearms, particularly real assault rifles not just civilianized versions.
@Iconoclast @cawlnaduckaduck I like the way you think!
Bravo! Its things like this that will detour other shootings like the ones at Sandy Hook, Colombine, and Virgina Tech!
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My thoughts are more of this needs to happen!
So why don't the people of of country need them if the police do?  The even said it would mitigate, not stop loss of life.  So why the victims wait for a response I'm sure everyone will be happy to know their won't be as much loss of life and they should just wait and hope it isn't their turn to die.  I can confidently say anyone in a shooting or self defense scenario doesn't care where they are or what laws are being broken.  They would just like any means possible to try and defend themselves and the ones they love.
NIce that they list them as high powered rifles instead of assault weapon like they always do.Â
 @Jeff Valdez That bothered me too. Why was it not referred to as an "AR15 assault weapon". Also, this is in NO WAY a high powered rifle. It's an efficient machine, for sure, but it's about one of the lowest power rifle calibers you can get except for the 22s.
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 @Jeff Valdez And not even high-powered. Just a 5.56mm rifle. But it is so scary...
This has been quietly going on for over a decade and has been very well managed.
223 is not a high powered rifle, it is a fairly low powered rifle. Now if they had been issuesed M14s, then I would agree.
 @Dave Lancaster I agree with your assessment that the .223 is not particularly high powered. It is however, very accurate. That being said, it is still not what I would want if facing someone wearing body armor.  The high end of .223 bullets would be 77 grains at 3100 ft/sec muzzle velocity delivering 1642 ft/lbs of force. With body armor, this would be irritating but not devastating. The mid-range .308 - 150 grain at 2900 ft/sec delivers 2800 ft/lbs. Even with body armor this is going to hurt and may in fact knock you off your feet.
 @yousaidwhat? Body armor is a trade between wearability and effectiveness. The bad guy has a choice between armor that will protect for 22LR (NIJ level I) and protection against 30-06 armor piercing (NIJ level IV). You need at least NIJ Level III to protect against the 223. Level III is hard rigid construction and not very wearable, limited to tactical situations.
http://www.officerstore.com/images/nijspec2.htm
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 @Sutekh Body armor is a reality. You prefer to ignore reality? Obviously since you have little idea of what constitutes a high-powered firearm and how long they have been around (over 100 years).
 @Sutekh  @yousaidwhat? "The officers, who already wear sidearms, wouldn't be able to stop a shooter like the one in Connecticut"
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 The shooter wore a vest and a discussion of the validity of the statement "they would not be able to stop him" is appropriate.
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If that is "geeking out" then you must be "liberaling out"
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 @al_wa  @yousaidwhat? Has it really come to this? Do we now live in a world where people are geeking out over what kind of armor-piercing ammo school security guards should have in their semiautomatic rifles? At what point do we step back and say, "Hmm, maybe it would have been a better idea not to completely saturate our country with high-powered firearms."
How could this happen in Dianne Feinstein's state? Maybe she should sit down with the school administrators in her own state. "district came up with the school rifle program after consulting with top school safety experts and looking at what other large districts had done,"
 @al_wa Maybe the people of California should listen to police who know something about crime and weapons instead of an elected official who doesn't know much but writes laws of ignorance.  Ask a cop if they weren't a police officer if they would own guns or carry one with them. Most will say they would cause they realize they are the only one responsible for their safety.  That is why most police officers that retire still carry even the ones in New York and California.
 @APenny4MyThoughts Spot on Penny 4. I know the retired police officer on the south hill of Puyallup that was taking a nap on his couch when three people kicked in his front door. One had a crowbar, he had a 9mm under his pillow. Chalk up one for the good guy's.
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Retired-officer-fires-on-burglars-at-his-home-146195185.html