As the third quarter of the 2023-2024 school year nears an end, the CHS School Resource Officers (SROs) are getting extensive training in combat and learning the skills necessary to disarm an intruder.

According to Ashley Williams, Master Patrol Officer and SRO, learning combat skills is critical to being an SRO and keeping students safe.

“As SROs, our main job is to protect students from danger and ensure they feel safe at school. Having lots of tactical experience and knowing how to fight against intruders is a main way the (SROs) are trained,” Williams said. “We learn techniques such as how to disarm intruders, how to get them on the ground and how to stop them from getting away.”

Sophomore Ivy Wei said she remembers the 2018 Noblesville West Middle School school shooting and is glad the SROs know how to keep intruders from hurting students.

“When I think of dangerous situations other schools have gone through like the Noblesville (West Middle School) shooting that happened a couple years ago and how school shootings are increasing in America, it makes me believe we should have better gun control and (SROs) educated in how to disarm these dangerous people,” Wei said. “I hope the SROs are given extensive training on how to hold off these attackers and make sure students are safe.”

Christopher Glander, Freshman Center Safety Administrator and Assistant Principal, said the school does everything it can to keep away intruders through serious surveillance of all exits and entrances.

“There are multiple points of entry to our school, so one of the things we’ve been doing for several years is making sure we have eyes on all points of entry into the school,” Glander said. “We have people with radios that can communicate with us and let us know if anything or anyone suspicious is entering the building. This helps us aid the SROs with information in case an intrusion (may) occur.”