- April 19, 2024
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Ormond Beach Police Officer Greg Stokes said he asks himself each day whether or not he'll be able to come home after he wraps up his shift at Ormond Beach Middle School.
As the department's only school resource officer, he said he prepares for the worst but hopes for the best each day, just like an officer performing a traffic spot. This mentality precedes the recent mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School two weeks ago, and it won't be going away anytime soon.
“Every day I think about it," Stokes said. "I got to. I got to factor that in every day.
On Feb. 23, Gov. Rick Scott announced an $500 million investment plan to increase school safety in the state. One of his proposals included implementing at least one law enforcement officer for every 1,000 students at each public school. Stokes said this is idealistic but that there are expense factors involved.
Ormond Beach Police Chief Jesse Godfrey said he would support that measure, but posed the question regarding private schools. While there are seven public schools within the city limits of Ormond Beach, adding private schools to the mix would double that number.
The Ormond Beach Police Department has 71 sworn officers. In order to pull it off, they would need help from other agencies, Godfrey said. He added that he hopes this won't turn out to be an unfunded mandate by the state.
“I hear a lot of talk," Godfrey said. "Can’t wait to see the action.”
It's also a question of putting the right people in the position, said OBPD Capt. Lisa Rosenthal. She said Stokes is not only a patrol officer, but that he’s a mentor, a teacher and a first responder all in one. School resource officers have to get special training.
“It takes a special person to be able to do that job, and as an agency and an administration, we took a lot of time and effort into picking the right person.
Lisa Rosenthal, OBPD Captain
“I think it’s important for people to realize that you can’t just stick any officer in a school and say ‘ok, go to work,’" Rosenthal said. "What Greg has accomplished this year, being the first SRO for the Ormond Beach Police Department, is phenomenal.”
Rosenthal said that if the unthinkable ever happens in Ormond, she and the agency have the utmost confidence that Stokes will respond to the situation accordingly.
“It takes a special person to be able to do that job, and as an agency and an administration, we took a lot of time and effort into picking the right person," Rosenthal said.
At the Volusia County School Board meeting, Greg Akin, chief operating officer for Volusia County Schools, said it would cost $4.05 million to add an additional 45 deputies to schools countywide.
While having law enforcement officers at school helps, Volusia County School Board member Carl Persis said the answer to resolve school shootings is not increasing armed personnel, be it teachers or school resource officers. One immediate way to increase safety would be to add fencing and close campuses to a single point of entry.
“I think this is a very cost effective of deterring someone who doesn’t belong on the campus from being able to get on the campus," Persis said.
Stokes said this is something he spoke to Ormond Middle's principal about, since the school is an open campus.
Godfrey also said the city's biggest problem is leaving their cars unlocked. Last year, 21 guns were stolen from car burglaries in Ormond, 16 of which were taken from unlocked cars. He said people need to stop making it easy for guns to land in the wrong person's hands.
“I know there’s gun safety and I know there’s gun rights and the second amendment, but this is ridiculous," Godfrey said.
Godfrey said he's passionate about school safety because of the amount of incidents that have occurred without action being taken.
“It’s very frustrating as a police chief," Godfrey said. "It’s frustrating as a father. It’s frustrating as a husband to a wife who works in a school, so I’ve got like three irons in the fire.”
At the end of the day, Stokes' priority is keeping students safe. It's why he's always visible in Ormond Beach Middle by walking the campus and overseeing lunch changes, which he isn't mandated to do.
“Someday we may not go home and that’s just the way it is," Stokes said. "But if there’s a threat, you got to go to the threat. You got to stop the carnage.”
