On Thursday’s broadcast of Newsmax TV’s “National Report,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stated that the department “has not had school resource officers assigned to schools within the last five years. That program was ended in the aftermath of the summer of 2020.” And “a lot of the parents, a lot of the teachers have been concerned about” this “and would like to see that program come back.”
Co-host Emma Rechenberg asked, “Could this have made a difference, had you had someone stationed just outside the church or just outside the school who could have run over to help?”
O’Hara answered, “Well, I can tell you this much: The Minneapolis Police Department has not had school resource officers assigned to schools within the last five years. That program was ended in the aftermath of the summer of 2020. And I know that’s something that, locally, here, a lot of the parents, a lot of the teachers have been concerned about and would like to see that program come back. That being said, I know our department, as well as all of the police departments around the Twin Cities metro, have been increasing patrols around houses of worship and schools, as this is now the first week of school, this week and next week for many of the schools in the area, and we’re going to continue to do so. And we’re going to continue to be available to respond to churches, houses of worship, and schools to provide security assessments and to do everything that we can, where we are welcome to come in, and provide recommendations on how these sites can be more secured. However, unfortunately, this is something that all of our community is all too aware of. And, even at this particular school, the children had — they’ve already had drills and practices on what to do in the event of an active shooter, of a tragedy like this. So, unfortunately, this is all too common in life, both in churches and houses of worship, as well as in our schools with our children.”
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