The earliest attack on a school I can find was in 1891 when an elementary school was attacked by an enraged employee wielding a shotgun. Across the span of American history there have been others but there was a sudden acceleration of them starting in the mid-nineteen-seventies. Instead of one every four or five years (or every decade) we were suddenly seeing multiple attacks each year. It wasn't until the Columbine attack in 1999 that we (law enforcement professionals) started chaning how we do business in response.
Even with the lessons we learned at Columbine though, and as wondrously fast as the response was at Virginia Tech, I can't help but think we still have lessons to learn and that there might be things we can do better. That's not to say that anything could have or should have been done differently at either of the aforementioned school attack incidents. Don't misunderstand. I think we do great. But law enforcement training and policy evolution is largely reactive. I can't help but wonder if there's something more proactive we can do.
That will be the topic of discussion on this week's Officer.com Radio show, Thursday, September 22nd, at one p.m. eastern. Joining me will be Sgt. Al Garcia (ret), owner and President of School Violence Solutions, a noted and respected training organization in the North East. Also joining me will be Mr. Vaughn Baker, President of Strategos Interntional, a well-known and highly respected training organization that offers training not only to law enforcement but also to others; the "others" who are often the targets of those lunatic shooters. Both Sgt. Garcia and Mr. Baker are SWAT veterans with close to fifty years of experience between them. When a third guest is secured, that will be announced.
So, whether you work the street, supervise or are an administrator, this is one radio show you won't want to miss. Listen in and get some ideas as to what you might want to do different... or better.
