‘I have 100% confidence in our deputies:’ Orange County sheriff talks school safety, new SRO training

Anchor Justin Warmoth hears from Sheriff John Mina

ORLANDO, Fla. – All of Central Florida’s public school districts will be back tomorrow for the first full week of classes, and campus safety continues to be paramount.

Following the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, law enforcement leaders have been rolling out new ways to prevent and respond to an active shooter on campus.

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Orange County Sheriff John Mina sat down with anchor Justin Warmoth on “The Weekly” to break down the training his deputies received ahead of the new school year.

“I have 100% confidence in our deputies and the training we have provided them,” Mina said. “I looked them in the eye, I talked to them before the school year started and told them, ‘You will risk your lives for the safety of our community.’ They get that, they understand that, and now they have the training and equipment to do that.”

Mina said school security will be addressed in a layered approach, which includes access to an app school employees can use to lock down a school.

“It’s basically a panic alarm button for violence,” Mina said. “It has a very loud, piercing alarm that goes right to our communication center, so our dispatchers hear that alarm and immediately know there’s violence happening at that school.”

Watch the full interview in the video player above.


About the Author:

Justin Warmoth joined News 6 in 2013 and is now a morning news anchor.