Grants Help Michigan Police and School District Upgrade Campus Safety
The Shepherd Police Department recently accepted a grant of more than $82,000 from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, which will go toward putting trauma kits in 540 Isabella County classrooms.
- By Jessica Davis
- December 13, 2018
The Shepherd Police Department and Shepherd Public Schools are using grants to help improve safety and security at Isabella County schools.
“We have a very safe school system, but we know that evil doesn’t know good people. They don’t know a good town. When evil comes, it’s going to come, so we’re going to be prepared for it,” said Chief Luke Sawyer of the Shepherd Police Department.
The department recently accepted a grant of more than $82,000 from the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, which will go toward putting trauma kits in 540 Isabella County classrooms.
“These kits go well beyond just a normal first aid kit,” Sawyer said. “You’re looking at things like a tourniquet. You’re looking at things like compression bandages which would be used for wounds on a body somewhere. Rubber gloves, scissors to be able to cut clothing off if you have to. Things like that. Things that go well beyond just a little cut on your finger or a skinned knee on the playground. This would definitely be for trauma situations.”
Shepherd Public Schools also received a grant of $20,000 from the tribe, which will fund the installation of more than 180 door barricades in campus buildings.
“We need to stop thinking that it can’t happen here,” Sawyer said. “These are going to be things that we actually put on the doors which will allow an active violence, active killer situation we’ll be able to barricade individual classroom doors very, very simply by just placing a piece of metal through a holder into the floor.”
Sawyer said the door barricades were just another layer of security on campuses.
“The more layers of protection to keep our students safe, the better off we are,” Superintendent Steve Brimmer said.
The district aims to have the trauma kits and door barricades installed on campuses in the next few months.
About the Author
Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.