Sheriff Grady Judd of Polk County, Fla., believes every public school within his jurisdiction should have an armed officer assigned to its campus to protect the students and faculty.
“The children are worth it,” Judd said on “Fox & Friends” Tuesday. “We passed a law, we said, ‘hey, the talking is over, it is time for action.’ As a result, the legislators provided money for SROS [school resource officers] and what we call safe school guardians. And as of August 13 of next year, for the first time in the history of the state of Florida, every public school campus will have well-trained armed security, called a guardian or a school resource officer. And we’re going to do everything we can to protect the children.” (RELATED: Newt Gingrich Wants To Arm Teachers To Protect Students)
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Judd said the armed officers would have 25 percent more training than a certified police officer and claimed the training would be affordable.
“When you look at the discipline of firearms, there’s 25 percent more training for the guardian than to even be a certified police officer,” Judd said. “And we’re arming them and coaching them and teaching them, but at the end of the day this is just one of many, many different layers.”
“You can take your existing resources on your campuses, give them detailed backgrounds, psychologicals, drug screens, ask for volunteers and give them the same training for approximately $1,500 to $2,500 a piece. So you can do it inexpensively. You have to quit talking and start acting that is it what we’re doing in Florida.”
Judd said his county will protect their children at all costs, even if it means using deadly force.
“I can tell you in this county, in our sheriff’s office and our police departments, if you show up on a campus the talking’s over. We’re going to shoot you a lot. We’re going to protect our children,” he concluded.
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