VOLU ME 25
ISSUE 6
CHAFFEY
B R E E Z E MONDAY + NOVEMBER 3, 2014
NEWS
Volunteer Fair and Public Service
A&E
How to Read Comic Books
OPINION
Basic information on Ebola
SPORTS
Levi Plante new Quarterback
Illustration by CALVIN HUANG
Assault rifles, extreme measures Campus police received seven tactical rifles Wednesday Oct. 29 to patrol with on all three campuses. Steve Lux, campus police administrator, recommended equipping officers with tactical rifles over a year ago, citing the current climate and prevalence of active shooter situations nationwide. Lux explained that while there haven’t been any direct threats to students or faculty, there is a need to be able to engage targets at a distance accurately. “The bottom line is, this is a very safe campus and we want to keep it that way,” Lux said. Patrolling with tactical rifles became commonplace after the North Hollywood shoot out of 1997. Lux
explained that after the robbery, law enforcement re-evaluated the tools that were needed to address modern safety protocols. In the shoot out, the assailants were armed with assault rifles and were wearing body armor. Officers had to wait 44 minutes for SWAT to arrive with sufficient firepower because the officers on scene were only equipped with handguns and shotguns. “Once we had the rifles in the units it gave us that distance we needed,” Lux said. “It gave us the accuracy we needed, and it gave us the confidence we needed to confront someone who had a high powered rifle.”
Chaffey Lieutenant Chris Hammond, a 30-year police veteran, and retired commander out of Riverside, could not imagine patrolling “without that [rifle] as an option,” Hammond said. The governing board was informed of the tactical rifle purchase on Sept. 25 by Interim Chief Darryl Seube. During the meeting the chief explained that seven Ruger mini-14 rifles were being purchased out of the campus police budget. One rifle will be locked in each patrol vehicle at every campus while the officer is on duty. When officers aren’t on patrol the weapons will not remain in the vehicle. The campus police have been participating in active shooter train-
ing with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department with the rifles. Hammond explained that there will not be any intensive week long training, though officers will have to show proficiency and competency while at the shooting range. Officers conduct weapons training at least four times a year according to the Lieutenant. Following the board meeting, Suebe presented the purchase information to student council where we was met with questions about what situations would call for a rifle. + continued on page 3