Chaffey Police officers have been disarmed in a controversial decision by Dr. Kane last spring. "The officers on the main campus are currently not allowed to carry firearms during hours in which students are normally present," said David Ramirez, Director of Public Safety. The officers at the satellite campuses remain armed, Ramirez said. "It sounds strange to me," San Bernardino County Sheriff's Spokesman Chip Patterson said concerning the disarming, explaining that the San Bernardino County Sheriff's officers (with very limited exception) are required to carry their guns whenever they're in uniform, and are encouraged to carry them when they are off-duty. While student and faculty protection has always been a concern, the police are now questioning their own safety when making traffic stops or choosing to engage or ignore potentially armed people who might not be students, according to Officer Carl Schmitz, a seven-year veteran of the force. "It's like being a deer with a red bulls-eye on your chest. Kind of like the Gary Larson cartoon. 'Bummer of a birthmark Hal,'" Schmitz said. To protect officer safety, the Police have changed their policy concerning engagement in potentially dangerous situations. The former policy, "Preserve life and protect property," has been changed to "Observe and report," stated Ramirez, who said the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department would be called in to handle any violent situation. Ramirez and others indicated this could result in a loss of valuable time in the case of a serious crime. "In one minute, everything can happen. Every single second is important," said Monica Castro, Business major. "Why shouldn't the police be armed? It would be so easy for students to bring guns to school. Nobody gets checked," Castro said. A task force has been formed to study the issue and will soon present its recommendations to Dr. Kane, according to Vice President of Student Services Robert H. Bell, the appointed head of the task force. The task force studied other college policies and chose fourteen benchmark colleges that are urban/suburban, single-campus districts similar to Chaffey. Of those fourteen, eight have fully armed campus police and three others contract with sheriffs to patrol the campus, Dr. Bell said. Only three of the fourteen have a no guns policy according to the survey results. The Institutional Research office on campus conducted a formal survey of five constituent groups on campus consisting of students, full-time faculty, adjunct faculty, confidential classified employees and administrators, Dr. Bell said. The respondents were asked if they prefer police to be armed 24 hours a day or only between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The results of that survey will be presented to Dr. Kane before being released to the public, according to Dr. Bell. In an informal survey of twelve students conducted by the Breeze, nine students voted for guns 24-hours per day, and three stated no preference. "If they're going to be here, they should be prepared to protect us," said David LaBarbera, Computer Technology major. "We don't have enough security here. If someone wants to rape you, a police officer with a gun can do more than one with just his hands," said Carmen Villalovos, Business major. "He has to call [the sheriffs] and we have to wait? No!" Villalovos said. She said her professor always encourages the last three students to leave together after their night class. According to Villalovos, her instructor said, "Please wait and go together to the parking lot. It isn't safe." There were six aggravated assaults on the main campus in 2001, the last year reported on the police website. Also listed were one weapons violation, fourteen burglaries and three vehicle thefts. More alarming is the recent double-murder on Haven Avenue, just 7/10 of a mile south of the campus, in which a fully automatic AP9 sprayed over two dozen rounds into a vehicle carrying three Rancho Cucamonga High School students. "If something like Columbine were to happen, we're like sitting ducks," said Victoria Rollins, Liberal Arts major. "It doesn't make much sense. If the police can't protect us, then they're here for what reason?" Rollins said. "The cops should be able to take action at the scene right away," said Oscar Estrada, Mechanical Engineering major. Dr. Kane could not be reached for comment. She will decide whether main campus police should carry guns "soon," according to Dr. Bell.
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