Police at Boston’s Public Schools Want to Carry Pepper Spray
A plan under consideration by Boston’s public schools would arm school police officers with pepper spray.
The department is holding several public hearings to get feedback on the matter.
In a statement on the Boston Public Schools website, the hearings, which began this week and will run through Nov. 13, are described as “just the beginning of the conversation’’ on pepper spray:
We will use feedback from these meetings to inform working group discussions with parents, students, staff and safety experts as we explore the issue more deeply prior to bringing any policy recommendations to the Boston School Committee.
In a Boston Herald report, Boston City Councilor Matt O’Malley called the proposal “absurd,’’ and said he believes “the system–the way it is now–works.’’
Bill Kelley of the Boston School Police told the Herald that officers have taken “300 knives and several guns’’ off students, adding that “Times have changed with school shootings. We can save lives if we have pepper spray.’’
The next public hearing will be Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. at the Hyde Park Education Complex Auditorium, then Nov. 13 at 6 p.m. at the West Roxbury Education Complex Auditorium, according the Boston Public Schools website.
Correction: An earlier version of this report incorrectly listed the location of the Nov. 6 hearing as the West Roxbury Education Complex Auditorium.
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