According to experts and contracts between Central Florida school boards and the law enforcement agencies with which they partner, the roles of local SROs vary and are often ill-defined. While Florida law mandates some form of armed security be present on campus with options from police to armed faculty it mostly leaves the details of that relationship to local school districts.
‘I Don’t Want to Hear It’: Florida School Board Confronted Over Relationship Between School Leaders and Students After Black Girl Is Knocked Unconscious
A now-viral video out of central Florida depicted Taylor Bracey of Osceola County being body-slammed by a Liberty High School school resource officer on Jan. 26 as the 16-year-old Black girl reportedly was involved in an altercation with other students. This week citizens and several community organizations showed up to a Lake County School Board meeting in Tavares, Florida, to voice their concerns about the relationship between school leaders and Black students.
“There’s absolutely no reason why a police officer, a grown man, should ever knock a girl unconscious or taze a student,” said David Caicedo, the president of the Florida Student Power Network, referencing both Bracey’s case and that of another black girl who was tasered by a school resource officer at Lake County’s Eustis High School on Jan. 26.
Investigation: Florida school resource officers are not required to undergo juvenile-specific training
Florida lawmaker files bill for more SRO training
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ORLANDO, Fla. – Caught in a crisis, communities often turn to law enforcement.
“It could be parents going through a divorce. It could be a single-parent home, a homeless situation, a breakup with a boyfriend or girlfriend,” Chief Jeff O’Dell of the Kissimmee Police Department said.
With more than 30 years of experience under his belt, O’Dell knows how crises affect children differently.
“With kids, it could be anything. They could be teased or bullied, so we really have to have a well-rounded school resources officer.”