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Joe Arpaio Plans To Increase Armed Civilian Posse In Schools

Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio Plans To Expand Armed Volunteer Posse
By 

Senior media coordinator, Center for American Progress

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Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio plans to expand his armed civilian posse in Arizona, KJZZ public radio reported Monday.

Arpaio's volunteer armed posse -- which launched in January following the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre that left 20 children and six educators dead -- was established to patrol regions surrounding some 50 Phoenix-area schools. The group of roughly 3,000 volunteers sparked controversy when reports revealed the criminal pasts of some of its members, including a convicted child-sex offender.

Despite some concerns, Arpaio says the group has been largely well-received, and that residents "love" seeing the armed volunteer posse patrolling the region.

"Fortunately since we started this three months ago, there have been no incidents and it’s gone good with the public," Arpaio said. "They love to see our cars roaming around and I have other plans coming up to further that operation, very soon."

A January Huffington Post survey of Arizona readers found that roughly two-thirds of respondents said they did not feel safer under Arpaio's program.

According to KJZZ, Arpaio now wants to increase the presence of his armed civilian posse as well as expand his controversial simulated school shooting program.

Arpaio's push for amplified civilian patrol around school perimeters comes just days after a report funded by the National Rifle Association recommended increasing the presence of armed guards in schools. The report, titled "Report of the National School Shield Task Force" and compiled by the NRA-backed task force the School Shield Program, also suggested that teachers be properly trained and armed "if there is personnel that has interest."

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, voiced strong opposition to the report's recommendations last week, calling the proposal a "cruel hoax that will fail to keep our children and schools safe."

"Schools must be safe, nurturing learning environments for our students, which is why we are opposed to proposals to arm educators or turn our schools into armed fortresses," Weingarten said in a statement. "Safety personnel and safety plans have their place in schools, but we must leave those decisions to the people who know our schools best -- not to those acting as a proxy for gun manufacturers."

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Before You Go

People Who Want More Guns In Schools
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) (01 of09)
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"I wish to God she had had an m-4 in her office, locked up so when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out ... and takes him out and takes his head off before he can kill those precious kids," Gohmert said of slain principal Dawn Hochsprung on Fox News Sunday. He argued that shooters often choose schools because they know people will be unarmed. (credit:WikiMedia:)
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R)(02 of09)
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"If people were armed, not just a police officer, but other school officials that were trained and chose to have a weapon, certainly there would be an opportunity to stop an individual trying to get into the school," he told WTOP's "Ask the Governor" show Tuesday, warning that Washington may respond to such a policy with a "knee-jerk reaction." (credit:WikiMedia:)
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R) & State Sen. Frank Niceley (R)(03 of09)
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Gov. Haslam says he will consider a Tennessee plan to secretly arm and train some teachers, TPM reports. The legislation will be introduced by State Sen. Frank Niceley (R) next month. "Say some madman comes in. The first person he would probably try to take out was the resource officer. But if he doesn’t know which teacher has training, then he wouldn’t know which one had [a gun]," Niceley told TPM. "These guys are obviously cowards anyway and if someone starts shooting back, they’re going to take cover, maybe go ahead and commit suicide like most of them have." (credit:AP)
Oklahoma State Rep. Mark McCullough (R) & State Sen. Ralph Shortey (R) (04 of09)
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State Rep. Mark McCullough (R) told the Tulsa World he plans to file legislation that would bring guns into schools, calling their absence "irresponsible." “It is incredibly irresponsible to leave our schools undefended – to allow mad men to kill dozens of innocents when we have a very simple solution available to us to prevent it," he said. "I’ve been considering this proposal for a long time. In light of the savagery on display in Connecticut, I believe it’s an idea whose time has come."Sen. Ralph Shortey (R) told the Tulsa World that teachers should carry concealed weapons at school events. "Allowing teachers and administrators with concealed-carry permits the ability to have weapons at school events would provide both a measure of security for students and a deterrent against attackers," he said. (credit:WikiMedia:)
Florida State Rep. Dennis Baxley (R)(05 of09)
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Baxley, who once sponsored Florida's controversial Stand Your Ground law, told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that keeping guns out of schools makes them a target for attacks.“We need to be more realistic at looking at this policy," he said. "In our zealousness to protect people from harm we’ve created all these gun-free zones and what we’ve inadvertently done is we’ve made them a target. A helpless target is exactly what a deranged person is looking for where they cannot be stopped.” (credit:AP)
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R)(06 of09)
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At a Tea Party event Monday night, Perry praised a Texas school system that allows some staff to carry concealed weapons to work and encouraged local school districts to make their own policies. (credit:WikiMedia:)
Minnesota State Rep. Tony Cornish (R) (07 of09)
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Cornish plans to introduce legislation that would allow teachers to arm themselves, according to the AP. (credit:Alamy)
Oregon State Rep. Dennis Richardson (R)(08 of09)
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In an email obtained by Gawker and excerpted below, Richardson tells three superintendents that he could have saved lives had he been armed and in Sandy Hook on Friday:
If I had been a teacher or the principal at the Sandy Hook Elementary School and if the school district did not preclude me from having access to a firearm, either by concealed carry or locked in my desk, most of the murdered children would still be alive, and the gunman would still be dead, and not by suicide....[O]ur children's safety depends on having a number of well-trained school employees on every campus who are prepared to defend our children and save their lives?
 (credit:dennisrichardson.org)
Former Education Secretary Bill Bennett(09 of09)
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"And I'm not so sure -- and I'm sure I'll get mail for this -- I'm not so sure I wouldn't want one person in a school armed, ready for this kind of thing," Bennett, who served as education secretary under Ronald Reagan, told Meet the Press Sunday. "The principal lunged at this guy. The school psychologist lunged at the guy. It has to be someone who's trained, responsible. But, my god, if you can prevent this kind of thing, I think you ought to." (credit:Getty Images)
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