Retired Army officer says long-term solution necessary for scho

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Columbine was the wake-up call.

Following the 1999 massacre in the Colorado town where two students killed 12 classmates and a teacher before taking their own lives in a two-hour period, tactics of local law enforcement officials have changed.

Instead of setting up a perimeter and waiting to negotiate, as in Columbine, officers now immediately go in to attempt to take the gunmen down before more blood is shed, such as the 2005 school shooting in Red Lake, Minn., where police exchanged gunfire with a 16-year-old gunman who later killed himself.

"We've gotten really good at shooting these kids," said retired Army Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a West Point psychology professor and author.

Before a group of about 300 local educators and law enforcement officials at Chaffee High School, Grossman gave an impassioned and graphic speech on school violence, its roots and what can be done about it.

Following the formation of the Scott County Sheriff's Emergency Response Team in April 2005, the team has trained in local schools in the case of a possible Columbine-like incident, Sheriff Rick Walter said.

Grossman warned that officers' training in school hostage situations is only a Band-Aid on a gaping wound, stressing the need to find a long-term solution.

"The killer can be deterred," he said. Whether it be a situation like in Columbine or terrorists taking over a school, as in Russia two years ago, having a security presence in the school was vital in deterring would-be murderers.

If a school has security officers, Grossman said, they should be armed.

"It is not the badge, it is not the hat, it is not the uniform that keeps us safe. It's the tools," Grossman said. He stressed he was not suggesting armed guards in every school but that any school with the means should do so.

As for violence in schools, Grossman said there were multiple causes, one of the more prominent being violent images. Others include lack of extracurricular activities and too much television.

Comparing images of two brains, Grossman noted that a youth exposed to violent images in television and video games had far less forebrain activity, where rational thought and impulse control occur, than a youth exposed to fewer of the same images.

"There're aliens among us. They look the same on the outside, but they're wired differently on the inside," he said of children who play too many violent video games and watch too much television.

Grossman cited research from Standford University Medical School that showed school districts where children completely stopped watching television and playing video games saw dramatic drops in bullying and violence, and an increase in academic achievement.

While he stressed parents should do their part and limit television and video game time, he also warned that the video game and media industry need to take their responsibility.

Some teachers who attended the presentation called it eye-opening.

"We're unplugging our TV," said Kelly Elementary School teacher and mother Ellen Holford.

Grossman was brought to Chaffee with the help of local school districts and the Scott County Sheriff's Department, who split the $3,500 cost.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

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