Dear editor:
On Friday, the pursuit of a suspect by Garland County deputies resulted in a lockdown of the Cutter Morning Star School District. After driving through fences surrounding the elementary playground, the suspect abandoned his vehicle and fled to a wooded area near the school to avoid capture.
At that point, I was notified and ordered an immediate hard lockdown of all students and staff. I arrived on the scene of the incident within two minutes after notification, as I am the head commissioned security officer at the school. Within minutes, several Garland County deputies, the Arkansas State Police, and other law enforcement agencies were at the school. Access points to the school were blocked by officers and all traffic was diverted around the school.
Once the facts of the situation were confirmed by school officials, parents were notified by the district's parent notification system at approximately 9:30 a.m. of the lockdown and were informed throughout the day with updates about the situation.
Search dogs from Arkansas Department of Correction were brought to the school, accompanied by helicopters and the Garland County SWAT team. After a complete search of all buildings and grounds by the SWAT team and me, it was determined the suspect was not on the school campus. The suspect was still at large in the area, so at 1:33 p.m. the district moved from a hard lockdown to a soft lockdown and notified the parents. Soft lockdown allowed lunch to be transported to the buildings as needed. Students and staff were allowed access to media centers, restrooms, computer labs, and to switch classes, but were directed to stay inside the buildings.
At 2:24 p.m., I debriefed with local law enforcement officers about the situation. At that time, I agreed with the law enforcement officials that the district could, in good faith, discontinue all lockdown procedures. Parents were notified that students could be released. School was dismissed at the regular time and buses ran normal routes. A small number of law enforcement officers remained on campus until the end of the regular day, as well as some units following the buses throughout their routes. The Garland County Sheriff's Department increased patrol in the area for the remainder of the day.
The first priority in this incident was the safety of all students and staff. An event of this magnitude justifies and reinforces the need for the hours of training the staff and students receive on a regular basis, as well the continued need for armed commissioned security officers on campus. At the end of the day, district administrators discussed procedures that worked well and procedures that needed improvement.
The Cutter Morning Star School District gratefully acknowledges all the efforts of the various law enforcement agencies that brought the situation to a successful conclusion. Staff members are to be commended for the roles they performed in the protection and supervision of students, as well as the execution of the safety plan they have been trained to execute in response to an event such as this. The district is thankful for the cooperation of parents during the lockdown and for understanding that children could not be released until the administration felt everyone would be safe.
Cutter Morning schools is fortunate to have great community support that allows "Eagles to soar!"
Nancy Anderson
Superintendent
Cutter Morning Star School District
Editorial on 01/28/2015