I-Team: School resource officer training changing in North Carolina schools
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Locked out and no other way to get in, a pair of school resource officers work quickly to pry open a high-level, 550-lb. steel door barricaded by a gunman.
They're simulating an intense scenario using simple tools and a mobile classroom called the B.E.A.S.T.
It travels the country teaching law enforcement how to quickly break through using a high-level breaching system.
"Seconds count when it comes to a shooting situation," said Tim Terry, Dir. of Breaching at 5.11 Tactical.
The specialized training is in high demand after tragedies at Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook put school safety under the microscope.
It's one of the techniques more than 400 North Carolina SROs are learning at a week-long training seminar in Concord, N.C., the largest and most comprehensive training ever to take place in the state.
"I'm putting myself in a situation. Hey, what if this was me? What would I do," said Guilford Co. school resource officer Ebony Moore.
From bullying to shooting simulations, the way SROs are learning to protect students in the classroom is changing.
"At first we were taught wait for your backup, but now, it's go find the shooter," said Todd O'Neal, N.C. Association of School Resource Officers president.
"I have some SROs that have been here for the first time and it's been an eye opener," said Franklin Co. Sheriff Jerry Jones.
Franklin County recently added SROs in elementary schools. It's part of an effort to beef up security.
State lawmakers earmarked $7 million last session to add 195 additional officers in North Carolina schools.
More than 1,400 SROs now patrol campuses across the state, but not every school has one and school leaders say there aren't enough.
"An elementary school kid can carry a gun just like a high school kid can, so I think it's very important that all schools have resource officers," said O'Neal.
All SROs must be certified, but their training may vary.
In a real-life school shooting, that training can mean the difference between life and death.
"You never know when that day is going to happen," said Moore. "We have to expect the unexpected."
