School officers getting heavy-duty protection in Washington County

The officers responsible for keeping Washington County schools safe will soon have new equipment they need to protect themselves, thanks to the sheriff and $300,000 in federal money.

The equipment includes new vests that can take shots from a rifle, along with shields, helmets and rifles with special sighting.

Since Parkland in 2018, and more recently, Uvalde in May, Washington County Sheriff Jeff Murphy has stayed awake at night figuring out how to make schools more secure.

Special response teams are great, but they take time to assemble, especially in rural areas like Washington County, Murphy said.

This equipment gives every one of his deputies and school officers the tools to respond right away.

The schools should be all equipped by next month.

Learn about some of the other steps being taken to make kids safer by watching the video of Mark Mulholland’s story.