The following statement was issued Wednesday by Oakley Police Chief Paul Beard:
The Oakley Police Department is deeply saddened by the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, yesterday. The mass homicide of innocent elementary school children is unthinkable, horrific, and shocking. The men and women of the Oakley Police Department stand in support of the community of Uvalde and remain committed to protecting the residents of Oakley against an attack like this.
Our Department has trained for situations such as the one that occurred in Uvalde, and our officers are equipped with the tools necessary to handle a situation like this. We have partnered with our local school districts to bring the training to their staff and make sure there are open lines of communication between school officials and the OPD. It is our belief the more we talk and train, the better we will all perform should the need arise.
Yesterday, I directed all supervisors of the Oakley Police Department to make this issue a topic of conversation and provide additional training during their daily briefing/training sessions. Today, all patrol staff visited each of our schools to check in with Oakley educators and students. The Oakley Police Department cares about each of our residents, especially our youngest and most vulnerable.
It is impossible for laws, regulations, and diligence to stop every single attack. Local law enforcement agencies and prosecutorial entities owe it to our residents to remain as diligent as possible to apprehend and hold accountable violent offenders before they have an opportunity to commit acts like what happened in Uvalde. To this end, the Oakley Police Department is committed to providing the residents of Oakley with the very best level of service and protection possible.
I have attached a link to precursor behaviors for situations like what happened in Uvalde. It can give each additional thought‐provoking information to consider as they assess different scenarios they see or experience. https://qz.com/1456558/the‐fbis‐warning‐signs‐of‐a‐mass‐shooter/
Please be safe
3 comments
Chief Beard is a proven leader who will make the Oakley Community safer. You are in goods hands Oakley!
Isn’t it nice to see leadership and communication between law e fort and our townspeople? Thanks Chief.
Does Oakley Police have a policy where it posts up outside a school for 40 minutes to an hour while a massacre is taking place and keeps parents from rushing into the school that are willing to die to try to save their children or disarm the attacker because the police won’t? It seems UPD does have that policy, because that’s what they did. I just want to make sure OPD can be depended upon. What happened in Uvalde was a huge, unforgivable let down to that community and UPD’s constituents.
Comments are closed.