Resource officers in the Altoona Area School District may soon be allowed to carry AR-15 semi-automatic patrol rifles in schools, under a policy change the school board approved the first reading of Monday.
The change adds AR-15s to the policy listing what weapons are “authorized for carry, deployment and use” by officers.
The written policy change (page 7 at the link) does not require the AR-15s to be locked up, but Bill Pfeffer, the director of safety and security for the Altoona Area School District, said they will be “secured” and only accessed by school resource officers if there’s a threat.
“Officers will not be walking around hallways or around campuses with these on, no,” Pfeffer said.
He said they want to have the rifles available because of the size of the school district and how spread out the buildings are. He also cited recent school shootings nationwide.
“We just wanted to have the capabilities of another tool added in case there would ever be a true emergency that we could respond to and effectively neutralize any type of threat that we’d need to deal with,” Pfeffer said.
The semi-automatic pistols that police and school resource officers usually carry are not good for accurately shooting someone at a long distance, but AR-15s are, Pfeffer said.
“To get down long hallways and to accurately take out the threat – if, God forbid, that ever happens – it's very difficult with pistols to reach that goal and to make sure that you're accurate with those shots,” Pfeffer said.
School resource officers must complete the Patrol Rifle Operators Program to use the rifles.
Pfeffer says four or five officers have already bought their own with personal funds, so there wouldn’t be a cost for the school district.
The vote to add AR-15s to the list of weapons resource officers can carry will take place at the school board meeting on Jan. 17.
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