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News 3-part safety series: Arming police & safety School has no plans to arm officers
By Joshua Wilwohl Editor-in-chief Former Northern Illinois University graduate student Steven Kazmierczak shot dead five students in less than two minutes on Feb. 14 in the university’s Cole Hall. It took campus police under 30 seconds to respond. If an incident such as a shooter were to occur on the Mercyhurst College campus, the school’s police and safety officers would have nothing to protect themselves with since they do not carry firearms, said Rodger Gregorich, Mercyhurst’s police and safety director. Erie Bureau of Police Captain D.J. Fuhrman said if such an incident would occur at Mercyhurst College, it would take minutes for officer response. "If we had an active shooter on campus …the first unit would be no more than five minutes," he said. Fuhrman said once four units were on scene of the incident, they would not need to wait for the special weapons and tactics team and would move in on a subject. "The first four responding officers proceed to where the shooter is and we will move on them," he said. "For example, if we get a call of ‘shots fired in Old Main,’ we will move to where the gun shots are being fired." He said, however, Erie police would rely on campus police and safety during the incident. "We would work with safety officers because they have knowledge of the buildings," he said. Gregorich said if a call of an active shooter came through his office, he would call all officers to assist in securing the scene but would be hesitant in sending in his officers unarmed. "Our officers, as it is now, are told if there is an armed individual, they should do what they can," he said. "But they should not put themselves in a position where they are in danger of being seriously injured or killed." Mercyhurst is the only college in the Erie area whose officers are not armed. Gregorich said his officers would help secure the scene, but Erie police would take control of the area. "Once a confirmed call is reported, the dispatcher would inform all personnel and immediately call Erie police," he said. Continued from Page 2 "We would also send a timely text message out to students and staff and implement the Mercyhurst College emergency response plan." The college’s emergency response plan is a 91-page booklet outlining certain scenarios that could occur on campus such as an explosion, a bomb threat, a civil disturbance, a data security breach and a campus shooting. The college updates the plan every year, with the most recent update starting six months ago, according to Gregorich. "If something happened, we’ve got our response protocol outlined in the emergency response plan," he said. Gregorich said Mercyhurst’s police and safety officers are sworn officers who have more than 10 times the amount of required hours needed for training an officer to carry a firearm. "Our police officers have municipal police required 740 hours of academy training," he said. Pennsylvania State Police recently released the Pennsylvania College Campus Security Assessment Report that outlines suggestions for campus law enforcement since the Virginia Tech tragedy on April 16, 2007, when student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and wounded 25 before shooting himself. The 17-page document states private college security forces should consider Act 235, lethal weapons training certification, as a requirement for employment to allow security personnel to stop an armed individual on campus. "Presently, private college security forces do not possess the use of force options or authority necessary to stop an armed individual, nor do they have the capacity to defend themselves against an armed assailant," states the document. The report also suggests background checks on all employees of the college and security swipe entrances on academic and residential buildings. Mercyhurst has both of these features, the latter, however, does not apply to upperclassman residential buildings or townhouses on Briggs and Lewis avenues or Wayne and 41st streets. "I personally believe that the sworn officers of this department should be armed," said Gregorich. "However, the ultimate decision lies with the president’s office and board of trustees." Mercyhurst College President Dr. Thomas Gamble said the college is safe without arming police and safety officers. "The most important thing in terms of safety is outreach," he said. "Young people and guns are not a great mixture." Gamble said Mercyhurst needs to work toward alternative methods of safety. "We need to rely on psychological and spiritual counseling," he said. "My personal preference is to have a culture and campus climate that doesn’t make us feel it is necessary to arm police and safety." Gregorich said his department looks to present information on arming police and safety officers to the board of trustees in the near future. "Those who make the decisions still believe Mercyhurst police and safety officers don’t need to be armed," he said. "It’s still their decision, but it’s our responsibility to provide them with accurate information they need to make the correct decision." Fuhrman, the Erie police captain, said he considers Mercyhurst a safe campus. "The kind of calls we get through the Mercyhurst campus is from neighbors about quality of life issues such as loud parties on 38th Street," he said. "We’ve received few calls to the campus over the past few years." Gerry Tobin, Mercyhurst’s vice president of student life, said the college plans to look into the possibility of arming police and safety officers. "Given the climate of the culture, I think it’s a good question to ask and I think it’s a timely opportunity to discuss," he said.
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