Puyallup School District steers away from armed security guards, preferring other options

When it comes to safety and security on campus, members of the Puyallup School Board have taken many precautions to ensure the safety of its students.

But there’s one matter they’re not considering: armed security officers.

“Our security officers have been unarmed,” board member Dane Looker said at a recent board meeting. “The role is one of building relationships with students, of being highly vigilant and present. None of those things are enhanced by carrying a weapon. We feel at this time campus security officers can in fact fill their responsibilities very well without having a gun on their person.”

The matter was brought up in a special board meeting on June 27 where the main topic was safety and security. The district highlighted the systematic safety steps already in place, which include campus security personnel and school resource officers.

It’s important to note the difference between campus security personnel — security officers — and school resource officers (SROs).

Security officers are unarmed. There are currently 15 of them working in the Puyallup School District: seven at the junior highs, six at the comprehensive high schools, one at Walker High School and one at Puyallup Online Academy. While many of them have a background in the military or are former police officers, they are not currently serving in law enforcement. The role of a security officer, according to Puyallup Superintendent Tim Yeomans, is highly relational.

“They’re aware of students. They know their names,” Yeomans said. “The positive relationships with students are the very most important thing there.”

SROs, on the other hand, are armed officers currently serving with a law enforcement department who are hired by the district to assist in security. There are currently three of them working with the Puyallup School District — two from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and one from the Puyallup Police Department.

The district sees the two roles as distinct, Yeomans said, and recommended to the board that only those who are serving law enforcement officers have weapons on campus.

Puyallup Police Chief Scott Engle attended the meeting and agreed with the board.

“I am full support of the (board’s) position as it relates to security and law enforcement,” Engle said.

Puyallup Captain Ryan Portmann added that there is currently no system in place for training security officers in the use of guns and that arming them could be potentially dangerous even if they have prior experience.

“It could be possible that the security person could be disarmed,” Portmann said.

According to RCW 9.41.280, “a person who is not a commissioned law enforcement officer and who provides school security services under the direction of a school administrator may not possess a device ... unless he or she has successfully completed training in the use of such devices that is equivalent to the training received by commissioned law enforcement officers.”

While security officers will not be armed anytime soon, there will be more armed SROs on Puyallup campuses starting next year. At least two more SROs, one from the city and one from the county, will come on board in the 2018-2019 school year, costing the district upwards of $100,000 per SRO.

Other safety improvements, from video-intercom systems to new design features that limit outside access into schools, have been in the works for years and are ongoing.

“We want to do to the very best we can to keep our kids safe,” Yeomans said.

This story was originally published July 23, 2018 at 10:00 AM.