We Shall Return

 "Don't judge every day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant."

Robert Louis Stevenson

On March 22nd,  a troubled 17 year old young man brought a gun to East High School. In the process of trying to disarm him, two school administrators were shot, one critically. The young man fled into rural Park County and apparently took his own life. He leaves behind him nothing but grief for his friends and relatives, and questions.

There are a number of points to be made, none of which are intended to further any political agenda. Rather, they are meant to point out what we consider obvious.

*The young man brought a handgun onto school property. It is already illegal for a 17 year old to possess a handgun (with limited exceptions not relevant here). It is illegal to transfer possession to him. It is illegal to bring a handgun onto school property. Solutions do not require more laws.

*The young man was apparently already the subject of a weapons charge in Arapahoe County.

*The young man was apparently already on the radar of school officials and was the subject of a "safety plan."

*Nearly three years ago, the Denver Public Schools removed all Denver Police SROs in response to the events in Minneapolis that resulted in George Floyd's death.

What seeds have we planted by demonizing all police officers based on the actions of a very few? How has the public's attention been diverted from proven solutions to violence to the largely symbolic (and therefore useless) posturing done for the purposes of raising campaign funds? At what point are Americans ready to reject extreme but fleetingly fashionable positions on both ends of the spectrum and support proven strategies - the presence of trained professional police officers where young people congregate, common-sense enforcement of laws already on the books to identify and remove from society at large those prone to violence, and a rejection of the notion that passing new laws is any kind of solution to violent crime?

Now the school system is requesting the SROs to return. This is a good decision. Rejecting police as part of the solution to violence in our society was a misguided seed sown by well-meaning officials responding to a tragedy. The bitter harvest does not have to be collected and consumed. We can, as a community, admit it was a mistake and move forward, together.