MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Starting July 1, a new Tennessee law will require all armed security guards and school resource officers (SRO) to go through active shooter training before they work in schools.
The new law is part of Governor Bill Lee’s push to make schools safer. Safety expert Bennie Cobb, a retired law enforcement officer and certified active shooter trainer trained SROs and security guards at a Memphis school Thursday.
“I’m a contract security company and this is something commissioned by the state that we needed," Rick Killebrew, owner of AirBorne Security, who attended the training said. "It’s better to have and not needed and needed and don’t have it.”
One of the grants provides funding for one full-time armed school resource officer or SRO in every public school. The other grant provides funding for schools to make what the governor calls “physical security upgrades”.
“We can all play a part in keeping our schools safe and we’re excited to partner with you to further strengthen school security,” Lee said.
Cobb says the partnership the governor is asking for requires collaboration between both public and private security and law enforcement officials.
"We know there’s not enough police officers to cover all of the schools," Cobb said. "That’s where armed security guards come in. It’s necessary with the climate that we’re in today.”
Cobb walks trainees through three scenarios; A search for a suspicious person that leads to a rescue, a shots fired call and an active shooter situation; one that’s all too familiar.
“It makes me feel good as an educator knowing that the government is really making it a priority to protect their teachers," said teacher Bobbie Willis. "Living in a city that has high gun violence rates it’s nice to know that we are being protected.”