The hiring of Quakertown Police Officer Bob Lee as the district’s School Resource Officer is one of several major steps taken in the last several years to strengthen school security.
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School Resource Officer Bob Lee wants parents in the Quakertown community School District to know that the incidents that led up to the shooting spree at Stoneman Douglas High School are handled quite differently in QCSD.
For one, the previous poor behavior of the gunmen, a former Stoneman Douglas student, would have been addressed well before he killed 17 students and faculty.
“If any of those things would have happened here, I would have went right out to that family,” Lee said. “Sometimes I might be paired with a school psychologist. Things would not have been allowed to rise to that level.”
Secondly, should an armed individual make his way into a Quakertown school building, Lee said his job is not to wait outside like deputies from the Broward County Sheriff's Office are reported to have done.
“What happened in Florida is ugly,” he said. “Part of my profession dropped the ball. If we get some type of active shooter, I’m ready to deploy. I need to neutralize the threat. That’s my primary responsibility.”
Lee said the Quakertown Community can expect him to react to an unwanted intruder like the SRO in St. Mary’s County, Md., whose quick action is said to have saved student lives.
“It’s just common sense,” Lee said. “We’re trained, and we have a duty to stop that threat. … The days of waiting up for backup, waiting for the SWAT team, those days are done.”