RIC, CCRI Officials Oppose Bill To Arm Campus Police

A local lawmaker has introduced legislation that would arm campus police officers at all Rhode Island colleges and universities. At a House Finance Subcommittee on Education meeting on Wednesday evening, Rep. William W. O’Brien (D-Dist. 54, North Providence) questioned Rhode Island College and Community College of Rhode Island officials, who have strongly opposed the legislation.

The bill sparked heated debate when it was first introduced during last year's session. At that time, RIC administrators and students, including President Frank Sanchez, gathered at a committee hearing to oppose the legislation, The Providence Journal reported.

"The terrible reality that our society currently faces is that active-shooter situations are a persistent threat and as we have seen, schools are frequently targeted for such vile and tragic acts," Rep. O'Brien said on Wednesday. "It is because of this that I believe police officers at both RIC and CCRI should be allowed to carry firearms in order to protect students, faculty, staff and the public."

At the meeting, O'Brien asked RIC Interim Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Stephen Nedder and CCRI President Dr. Meghan Hughes why, if the schools are opposed to arming campus police officers, the schools hire armed police officers for certain events, saying that if there was not a need for armed officers on campus, why outside officers are needed.

"If the administrations of RIC and CCRI truly believe that there is no need for armed security on their campuses, then there is no reason for armed police details to be hired at great costs to the taxpayers and students of both institutions," Rep. O'Brien said. "Dr. Hughes even admitted that if CCRI police officers were armed, there would have been no reason to hire an outside armed police detail for an incident several years ago that lasted almost a week."

In response, Hughes said that campus officers have been armed with pepper spray and batons in the past year, and the campus safety department has worked to create new safety procudures and training to ensure preparedness in an emergency situation.

"We feel very strongly that the community policing model is an effective one," Hughes said. "We have great confidence in the support of our municipal police who are able to arrive to all four of our campuses within minutes."

The University of Rhode Island is the only public high education institution with armed campus officers, which were instituted in 2015. Brown University, a private institution, also has armed officers.

"All of these men and women are former law enforcement officers, and all are required to go through the training of the police academy, which also means under Rhode Island state law, they can carry firearms legally. If the worst were to happen on either campus, I would much prefer that the campus police officers be trained, prepared, and equipped with firearms rather than having to approach an active-shooter with a pair of handcuffs and a prayer," said Rep. O’Brien.

If passed, all officers would be required to go through a training course. The bill is being considered by the House Committee on Education.