Arming safety officers at public colleges to be discussed at State House

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A proposed bill in the Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee would see all public higher education institutions in Rhode Island arm their public safety officers.

What would it look like if this change were implemented?

The bill, sponsored by Rep. William O’Brien from North Providence proposed this mandate to be put in place by fall 2024.

This would include having all campus police complete firearms training by October 1 at all public higher education institutions in Rhode Island.

ABC6 spoke with a former state police officer Todd McGhee, who says he is in favor of training and arming the officers.

He calls it an extra layer of deterrence against potential school shooters.

Having armed guards could save some of the most precious life-saving moments in response time by having personnel already on campus equipped to respond, according to McGhee.

“There will be a level of standardization, a level of proficiency that each officer would have to, in a scoring system, achieve a minimum score in order to be active, on duty and with a firearm,” said McGhee.