Plano police will obtain additional rifle shields to strengthen their active shooter response.
City Council unanimously approved Monday night the Plano Police Department’s estimated $414,934 purchase of 165 light-weight rifle shields from Armor Research Company. Military Riot Control Shield
The ballistic shields, which guard law enforcement or military officials from bullets, will bolster the department’s equipment and allow first responders to effectively respond to an active shooter threat, police say.
Just two rifle shields are assigned to the Patrol Division, and four are assigned to SWAT, according to the City Council agenda memo.
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“The intent of purchasing rifle shields is to have a breaching tool and rifle shield in every marked patrol car operated by a uniformed officer,” the memo said. “Also, a rifle shield in every school with an on-site assigned [School Resource Officer].”
Active shooter threats have been on the rise in recent years. Plano police said the FBI reports that rifles are used in 27% of active shooter events in the United States. The FBI reported that in 2022 about 43% of the 61 firearms used in 50 active shooter incidents were rifles.
The department said the shooter used a rifle in 2017′s NTT Data facility shooting and 2017′s shooting at a Dallas Cowboys watch party on Spring Creek Parkway. The shooting on Spring Creek Parkway left nine people, including the gunman, dead. More recently, the gunman in the May mass shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets, about 10 miles north of Plano, killed eight people and injured at least seven others.
Funding for the equipment is available in the Police Equipment Replacement Fund Budget for 2022-23, according to the memo for the item.
“If not funded, the efficient and effective response to an active threat incident could be severely delayed or create a substantially higher risk of serious bodily injury or death to members of the community, fire rescue and police personnel,” the memo said ahead of the City Council meeting.
Plano police said 210 officers are assigned to patrol and 26 SROs are assigned to 27 schools. Plano police are responsible for responding to 65 Plano ISD schools with over 50,000 students and 27 private primary schools, the memo said. Police also respond to all calls at public facilities and residences, such as churches and businesses.
In April, police responded to a hoax active shooter call at Collin College’s Plano campus. Police described the call as a case of “swatting.” These calls are made in an attempt to lure police or SWAT teams to a particular location, according to the FBI. SWAT teams, police’s special weapons and tactics divisions, typically wield specialized equipment and are heavily armed.
Anti-Riot Shield Myah Taylor, Staff, Reporter. Myah Taylor covers high school sports. She formerly worked as a Collin County reporter for The Dallas Morning News. Taylor has contributed to the Austin American-Statesman, Yahoo Sports, the Los Angeles Times and Texas Monthly. She is a 2022 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin.