North Texas Suburb May Soon Allow SROs to Bring Rifle Inside Schools
The Coppell ISD is debating whether or not to allow School Resource Officers to bring their rifles into the campuses they monitor
Coppell is a city located in the northwest corner of Dallas Country. It has a population of a little over 40,000, and its ISD serves nearly 12,000 students in Coppell, Grapevine, North Irving, Valley Ranch, and the Cypress Waters area of Dallas.
Only a few months ago, an armed man robbed someone on the Coppell High School campus. Although the man was arrested within 24 hours, it was an incident that made the ISD start to consider additional options for securing their campuses.
Right now, the Coppell ISD Board of Trustees is considering allowing SROs to bring rifles into the schools they’re monitoring.
"Rifles are nothing new in law enforcement," said Officer Chris Cobb, an SRO at CHS adding that CPD has used them for the last 15-20 years. "Each squad car has a rifle and shotgun. SROs have a rifle. They are trained; they have to qualify with a 100-percent score.”
"The rifle is a far more accurate weapon than a pistol," Cobb continued. "It's also safer with us to get in there to actually eliminate the threat. We can engage a lot sooner. Also, a rifle within itself ... that's a little bit more power than what we're carrying on our hip. So it's kind of an intimidation factor."
Neighboring school districts already allow SROs to bring their rifles into the schools. If CISD approves, each SRO would have to bring their rifle inside a case before they could bring it inside their school. While in their offices, SROs would have their rifles locked inside a safe or locker, and it could only be opened with a key code or fingerprint.
"I don't have a kid right now in the district, but if I did I would be thrilled that this is going on," said Board President Tracy Fisher. "It's just a matter of time unfortunately, and we have to be prepared."