MassCops - Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network - Worcester State College Police Armed!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nightcopppa

Friday, November 9, 2007 WSC trustees OK armed police

9-1 vote counters student poll on guns

By Jacqueline Reis TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
jreis@telegram.com

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WORCESTER— The Worcester State College campus may have been divided on the issue on whether to arm campus police, but the college’s board of trustees wasn’t: It voted 9-1 last night to have the 16 officers carry side arms.
About time. WSC, you've earned the right to keep yourself from getting killed and FINALLY someone in 'authority' realized it...even if it's not YOU they're worried about. It all comes out in the wash.

The sole dissenter was student representative Brandon Huggon, who supported the move personally but voted against it on the basis of a student poll in which 155 students voted against the change and 148 voted for it.
Sounds like a REAL politician. Give him a few years and he'll be running for the Congress!

Board Chairman George W. Tetler III said the deciding factor was the recommendation of college President Janelle Ashley and “the expertise of the staff who are responsible” for campus safety.
I like that last line in quotes. Not nearly enough college administrators take that simple yet obvious fact into consideration.

Police Chief Rosemary F. Naughton said arming campus police will allow them to respond to calls in which someone might have a gun rather than waiting for Worcester or state police, who do not know the campus as well.

“My nightmare is… a critical incident when we’re fully trained and we can’t go in and stop the threat,” she said. “I can’t imagine nowadays not approving this proposal.”
This chief uses the old "We arm or you die" tactic very nicely. I like her!

The vote came after three forums, one each for the student government, students in general and the faculty. Thirty-five students, faculty, staff and alumni addressed the board. Sixteen spoke against the measure and 10 for it. Some, including philosophy professor Daniel C. Shartin, asked the board the table the issue so debate could continue.
This only makes sense because all those faculty staff and students with far more police experience SHOULD weigh in on the issue.

Opponents did so for a variety of reasons, from changing the campus climate (and don't we have enough of THAT to worry about with Global Warming?) to a fear that guns could be used disproportionately against people of color.
Every armed college cop in this state has shot at least three people of color in the past year so I can fully understand that reasoning. I've faced off armed white guys but refused to shoot them because, well, hell, they were white. (this entire statement is irony and sarcasm, NOT to be taken seriously by ANYONE!-thank you)

“Guns and my people don’t get along well,” said Domingo Guyton, a Worcester State alumnus who is adviser to the student multicultural organization Third World Alliance.
Maybe if he got to actually KNOW the guns. Buy them a round or two, take them to a movie. Can't we all just get along?

“I don’t like guns. … I don’t even want to walk by an officer that’s carrying one,” said senior Obi Ajuonuma...
An intelligent statement if ever I read one. Heck, I don't blame him, those things go off if there's a stiff breeze and we all know that only psychos carry guns anyway; especially the ones in a uniform.

Resident assistants who spoke were in favor of arming police. Amber Boivin recalled one incident in which a man beat up three students off campus, then arrived on campus, and it took Worcester police a half hour to arrive. The man wasn’t found for another couple hours, she said.
I love this girl, but I think she made this up for effect. Those things don't really happen on a college campus. Ok, MAYBE Simon's Rock of Bard. No, wait, they only have that occassional student with a rifle shoot the security guards.

Last night’s vote was contingent on the submission of a detailed side arm policy. Officers will not be armed until they finish firearm training, Chief Naughton said, and they must undergo an additional psychological assessment (beyond the one they had when they were hired). Most of the officers have been armed or are armed while working for other agencies, according to the college.
Makes sense. If these people are going to arm the cops, the cops should show to the world that they are FULLY quallified and silence, or at least muffle the mis/ill informed. That was NOT sarcasm.

Other local schools with armed campus police include Assumption College, Becker College, Clark University and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5-0

It may have woken up some people, but people on College Hill are still sleeping. I was going to keep my mouth shut seeing this thread was about WSC, but a certain unarmed college in the Worcester area came up so... (HC cough cough)

QCC is 10 million times more likely to get armed than HC. If you look at where QCC was 10 years ago vs. HC, they have come light years. HC would (as someone mentioned) need written approval from Jesus Christ himself to arm anyone on the department. The officers don't even have ballistic vests/batons, let alone firearms. The problem is that colleges like HC are more concerned about their 45k (50 for a freshman now) students than they are about their officers. I am speaking about the faculty and administration, the chief has actually started to come around to fight for the officer's lately. It's not hard to understand that it's a game on campuses to essentially 'protect' the students from the municipal police. The campuses want police because if they were 'Security', they would have to rely on the municipals who would come in and trample their student body (which might not be a bad thing). If a school can have their own private police force that is castrated, it makes it easier to con the parents into thinking the campus is safe.

3 firearms related calls (On Campus) in the last 3 months. An ADW (knife) right outside the gate, and several shootings in the area? (Including the College Square Shell station Latin King related shooting--- 100 yards from the property) When I work a shift and look like a trooper (minus the campaign cover) without the tools to protect myself and the students, I wonder if I am mildly retarded sometimes.

Something really bad is going to happen to a student or an officer, because they have stripped us of our first level of command presence: Our damn PRESENCE! I can't tell you how many times I have seen a drunk turd eyeing my duty belt, or a little kid say: Hey a Police Officer! and the parent saying: 'No, thats just security'. Ivory Tower liberals don't realize that the perception of people is Guns=Police No Guns = Security. It's not our fault that people think that way.

I wish touchy feely administrators could understand that declawing your police actually has an inverse affect on the 'Community Policing' that they want to achieve. I use a dog analogy: What would you rather have protecting you? A poodle that is a viscious little prick, or a 95 lb German Shephard that is nice? The poodle HAS to act like a prick from the get-go because you immediately see it as a joke. I prefer the Shepherd because like a geared and squared officer, it's mere presence has an effect on the situation. The dog may be nice, but you are always wondering when it's going to bite your face off.

When I go to a call, my command presence is already impacted because of my gear, so I actually may put more verbal pressure on a student (which will impact my community policing) than I would if I was perceived as a 'real' police officer as soon as I came on scene. Essentially, we have to turn up the heat from the start to get the respect (or fear, it's all the same to me) that say a Worcester officer would get.

-Rant over.

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