Florida schools that now have military weapons, armored trucks, MRAPs. Well-armed.

[madfloridian]

Putting this in General Discussion because these are places of education.

Pinellas schools buy assault rifles from military surplus program

The Pinellas County School District has purchased 28 M-16 assault rifles from the federal government and is preparing to assign them to school police officers in the coming weeks, the chief of the police unit said Wednesday.

....The district is one of at least 120 education organizations, including the University of South Florida, that have received military gear as part of a Defense Department program that came under increased scrutiny in August after the heavily armed police response to tensions in Ferguson, Mo.

....School police Chief Rick Stelljes said his department has wanted to purchase M-16 rifles, which he calls "long guns," for at least two years but was prohibited by cost. He said the government's program allowed him to buy each rifle for $50, significantly less than the $900 to $1,000 he would have otherwise paid.

....USF (Univ of South Florida, Tampa) was one of four universities in the state to receive rifles. The others were Florida International University, the University of North Florida and the University of Central Florida.

In the past five years, USF's police force received 20 M-16 assault rifles and a Humvee from the federal program in an effort to ensure officers weren't outgunned in the event of a Virginia Tech-style attack, Assistant Chief Chris Daniel said.

But there's more. And Pinellas schools received more than listed in that article.

Florida Schools Get Major Fire Power Through Controversial Military Surplus Program

According to the database, Pinellas County School police is in the only K-12 district in the state to receive surplus military tactical equipment. It received 2 armored trucks, 2 MRAPs and 22 M16s.

...Bay County Schools also received seven M16s and a .45 caliber pistol, and Palm Beach County schools received two .45 caliber pistols.

...According to the database, Florida International University received an MRAP and 49 M16 rifles. The University of North Florida got eleven M16s.

The University of Central Florida received 11 M16s and a grenade launcher that was converted to fire tear gas. A UCF spokesman said the guns were used in an incident last year when school police officers had to confront a heavily armed student.

The University of Florida got an armored truck and the University of South Florida in Tampa got twenty M16 rifles.

According to the article, several school districts say they will give some of the weapons back because of all the criticism. Maybe they hoped no one would notice.