- Paragould Daily Press
- THE PARAGOULD SOLUTION: SWAT officer with AR-15. If professionals propose this for the streets, do you trust non-professionals in schools?
The notion advanced by NRA and Asa Hutchinson — that the world is oversupplied with reliable volunteers who can be counted on to staff every school in America as armed guards — is dubious on several counts, beginning with the practical problem of assuring that trustworthy people will show up and that replacements are ready when they are sick, on vacation, etc.
Then there is the notion that an armed civilian, after a little NRA safety course, is a guarantee of good judgment in this most sensitive of roles with very vulnerable charges.
Consider Paragould, where the supposedly professional police force floated the idea of roaming the streets with SWAT officers armed with AR-15s and promised to demand ID without reason as a means of discouraging crime.
The police now say they’ll respect constitutional guidelines in their community policing.
But I ask you to read their most recent letter on the matter and the inquiry from the ACLU of Arkansas to which it responds. I don’t see yet anything but general assurances, rather than specific commitments, from an agency that is currently not exactly inspiring of confidence.
Holly Dickson, staff laywer for the ACLU, says she spoke with police chief today and he promises to honor the 4th Amendment. We’ll see, I guess. Relevant correspondence follows: