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Some local police chiefs support training, arming teachers

AUBURN, Mass. – Several Massachusetts police chiefs have expressed support for President Donald Trump’s proposal to arm teachers.

One of those chiefs is Andrew Sluckis from Auburn, who said it can save lives and buy time while police respond.

"Anytime you can introduce an opportunity to stop something like what happened in Florida, you would be crazy not to," he said. "I think there are 17 sets of parents from Florida, of you flew down there, would probably say, 'I wish somebody in that school had a gun and could’ve stopped this.'"

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As for compensating teachers or staff members who would carry a gun at school, Sluckis said it’s obvious.

“You can have custodians working in the schools that are weather it’s male or female, or military people, if you have an opportunity to train them appropriately, and give them a fire arm, why in the world wouldn’t you?” he said.

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In Oxford, Police Chief Anthony Saad spoke out publicly supporting teachers during a presentation earlier this week.

“To have some force in the school to prevent it, should it happen, I think is paramount,” he said. “Times have changed, we need to change with the times. I know there are a lot of people that aren’t fans of putting guns in schools, it’s reality.”

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Chief Sluckis in Auburn said other safety proposals include wearable panic buttons for teachers and shooter detection systems in every school.

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