Thursday, September 6, 2012
Chief John Konopek sent a letter to Plainfield School District 202 Wednesday taking the proposal off the table.
Police patrolling Plainfield schools won’t carry rifles anytime soon. After a request to install gun safes in four Plainfield schools drew national media attention, Plainfield police sent a letter to District 202 officials withdrawing the proposal. Chief John Konopek sent a letter late Wednesday to Superintendent John Harper and Board of Education President Roger Bonuchi withdrawing a request to install locked gun safes at Plainfield High School – Central Campus, Plainfield North, Plainfield East and Plainfield Academy. In his Sept. 5 letter, Konopek said he still “strongly supports” the proposal, but wanted to eliminate the request for several reasons. “First and foremost it has changed the focus on what people should be concentrating on…
Friday, August 31, 2012
Colleen Curry is collecting signatures urging the District 202 Board of Education to reject a plan to install gun safes in four Plainfield schools.
When Colleen Curry first heard about a proposal to install gun safes — not to mention AR-15 rifles — in Plainfield schools, she thought it was just a rumor. “I saw some pratter on the Internet,” she said. “It was kind of on my radar.” Curry soon discovered the proposal was real: Under a request by Plainfield Police Chief John Konopek, school resource officers at Plainfield high school campuses sought permission to install gun safes, where they could store their rifles in case of a school shooter incident. Curry said she was shocked to see information about the proposal in a District 202 newsletter last Friday. “I was sort of blown away,” she said. “I thought, I don’t think I’m OK with this.” So on Monday, Curry launched a petition online …
Monday, August 27, 2012
John Konopek said officers can handle active-shooter scenarios more effectively using a long gun rather than a handgun.
Since the Columbine High School shooting made headlines around the world, Plainfield police have made active-shooter response part of their regular training. “We’ve been doing rapid deployment/active shooter drills since 2000,” Chief John Konopek said. “Ever since Columbine happened, we’ve made sure it’s a big emphasis that all our sworn officers are prepared to handle an active-shooter situation.” According to Konopek, allowing school resource officers to store their AR-15 rifles on campus would give police one more tool to respond to the unthinkable. Last week, District 202 school board members discussed a proposal to install gun safes in four Plainfield campuses: Plainfield High School – Central Campus, Plainfield North, Plainfield East…
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Plainfield police brought the request to the District 202 school board, saying a rifle would better equip school resource officers to handle a Columbine-style activer shooter scenario.
District 202 officials are considering a proposal from the Plainfield Police Department to buy and install gun safes at Plainfield high schools in the event there is an active shooter in the building. The board will continue to review the proposal next month, but will first work with its legal department on the language for the possible agreement. Under the proposal brought forth by Plainfield Police Chief John Konopek, a secure gun safe would be installed in the office of the on-campus school resource officer, allowing the officer quick access to his or her AR-15 rifle in case there is a shooter in the building. If approved, the safes would be installed at Plainfield High School – Central Campus, Plainfield North, Plainfield East and …
Ernie Knight
10:06 am on Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Ron, You still don't get it. Pistols are for clearing small rooms and tight confines. Rifles are for everything else. I never talked abour football fields. That was your invention. You know when SWAT goes into a building (not even one near as large as a high school) and they're carrying RIFLES? They're not for decoration, Ron. The AR-15 .223 round is specifically chosen because it does not … more ›