— In California, the United States District Court refused to dismiss claims of excessive force asserted against two school resource officers who fought with a student while attempting to escort him to the administrative office. The officers flipped the student from his back onto his stomach, handcuffed him, and took him to the administrative office. According to one of the officers, “(y)ou turned around and you fronted me like you were going to fight me.” The court ruled that the elements of excessive force include, “(1) the severity of the crime at issue, (2) whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others, and (3) whether he is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight.” The court ruled that a reasonable jury could conclude that SROs’ use of force was unjustified. “(The student) was a thirteen-year-old freshman, almost a foot shorter and 100 pounds lighter …He held a sweater in his hands, while both SRO(s) were armed and in uniform. At all times, (the student) was surrounded by numerous adults, including the SROs and …was walking toward the administrative office in compliance … even though no fight had taken place.” Silvas v County of Riverside, EDCV192358JGBSHKX, 2022 WL 3574176 (CD Cal July 14, 2022)
— In Idaho, the school resource officers of the Cassia County School District will begin wearing rifle rated body armor. The body armor, a gift from a fundraiser for school safety, “will handle AR 15 rounds, and even AK 47 rounds.”
— In Kentucky, all public schools are required to have a school resource officer at each school campus. However, the mandate is unfunded. As a result, schools are struggling to meet the requirement.
— In Pennsylvania, a comprehensive school safety plan was presented by the Philadelphia School District that creates 27 zones, around high violence middle and high schools, where uniformed officers will be present to help students leave school safely during dismissal.