Seems like its always the teachers who are in the middle.  So common sense, arm the teachers.

This is how a teacher would protect their students handgun vs AR.  Need to set up an ambush around a blind turn or doorway, close quarters.   An AR is stronger than a concealed carry handgun pretty much in all ways, except close quarters.

This is my opinion:  the cop is sworn to serve and protect.  But that doesn't include rushing headlong into a situation where the odds of succeeding isn't too good.  Taking on shooter(s) armed with ARs with only your 9mm and no backup aint the smartest thing in the world to do.  In dangerous situations normally, cops call and wait for backup before rushing in.  A handgun, concealed or not, is your best defensive option against someone armed with a rifle, but in no ways does it make sense to rush someone head-on.  In a defensive situation, with the element of surprise on your side, you potentially can stop the shooter (such as if teachers or other school employees were armed).

I really don't think hanging the guy for not charging in alone (and probably getting mowed down) is fair.

I hope that I would be "heroic" in that situation, but it is difficult to predict how I would act.  However, given the job he signed up for, the training he had, and the equipment he was given . . . as the deputy's boss said he should have "went in, addressed the killer, killed the killer." 

I agree that one element to reducing casualties is removing "gun free zones" and allow concealed carry to those who wish to (including here).  Concealed carry has had positive results, it was a CDC funded study during Obama that found that guns were used defensively 500,000 to 3,000,000 per year.

Got a link to that study? I had heard the FBI estimated 60,000 times a year.

2. Defensive uses of guns are common:
“Almost all national survey estimates indicate that defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as
offensive uses by criminals, with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million
per year…in the context of about 300,000 violent crimes involving firearms in 2008.”

Read more: http://www.gunsandammo.com/politics/cdc-gun-research-backfires-on-obama/#ixzz57zAVRadN

The sheriff called this "standing up for students."

Depends what their policy is on active shooters and what type of training they received.  The majority of the fault could be with the department.

Not specific to just the on-scene (non)action, but the department policies in general, their collusion with the school board, and their actions re the 39 calls on the killer prior to the killlings.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/02/23/broward-county-sheriffs-office-did-not-miss-warning-signs-or-make-mistakes/

Broward County Sheriff’s Office Did Not “Miss Warning Signs” or Make “Mistakes”…

Excerpts:

A few points need to be emphasized for those unfamiliar with the Broward County system. First, with revelations of frequent LEO contact and calls from people warning about school shooter Nikolas Cruz, there’s a common narrative mistakenly being pushed by mainstream media.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) didn’t “miss warning signs” or make “mistakes” in not writing up reports. The Sheriff’s office did exactly what their internal policies, procedures and official training required them to do, they intentionally ignored the signs, and intentionally didn’t generate documents. Example:

Miami Herald […] In November, a tipster called BSO to say Cruz “could be a school shooter in the making” but deputies did not write up a report on that warning. It came just weeks after a relative called urging BSO to seize his weapons. Two years ago, according to a newly released timeline of interactions with Cruz’s family, a deputy investigated a report that Cruz “planned to shoot up the school” — intelligence that was forwarded to the school’s resource officer, with no apparent result.

Broward announced broad changes designed to mitigate the use of harsh punishments for minor misbehavior at the beginning of this school year. While other districts have amended their discipline codes, prohibited arrests in some circumstances, and developed alternatives to suspension, Broward was able to do all these things at once with the cooperation of a group  that included a member of the local NAACP, a school board member, a public defender, a local sheriff, a state prosecutor, and several others. In early November, The Miami Herald reported that suspensions were already down 40 percent and arrests were down 66 percent.

SOP now is to advance and engage the shooter, without waiting for backup...

A few points need to be emphasized for those unfamiliar with the Broward County system. First, with revelations of frequent LEO contact and calls from people warning about school shooter Nikolas Cruz, there’s a common narrative mistakenly being pushed by mainstream media.

Who is that space alien??

you wipe the dirt from your face and you realize that it's not dirt, it's the blood and gut of what was once your best friend, you'll know what to do."

Thought no modern cop, going home safe each night is the mantra drilled in by their unions.  Killing dogs and drunks lying on their stomach is as far as the courage takes them.

Union tells them to take no risk, they are not required by law to do so.  To do more might hazard their pension and risk legal action.

Not specific to just the on-scene (non)action, but the department policies in general, their collusion with the school board, and their actions re the 39 calls on the killer prior to the killlings.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/02/23/broward-county-sheriffs-office-did-not-miss-warning-signs-or-make-mistakes/

Broward County Sheriff’s Office Did Not “Miss Warning Signs” or Make “Mistakes”…

Excerpts:

A few points need to be emphasized for those unfamiliar with the Broward County system. First, with revelations of frequent LEO contact and calls from people warning about school shooter Nikolas Cruz, there’s a common narrative mistakenly being pushed by mainstream media.

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) didn’t “miss warning signs” or make “mistakes” in not writing up reports. The Sheriff’s office did exactly what their internal policies, procedures and official training required them to do, they intentionally ignored the signs, and intentionally didn’t generate documents. Example:

Miami Herald […] In November, a tipster called BSO to say Cruz “could be a school shooter in the making” but deputies did not write up a report on that warning. It came just weeks after a relative called urging BSO to seize his weapons. Two years ago, according to a newly released timeline of interactions with Cruz’s family, a deputy investigated a report that Cruz “planned to shoot up the school” — intelligence that was forwarded to the school’s resource officer, with no apparent result.

Based on the article, it appears the same lenient policies that kept Treyvon Martin from becoming a juvenile offender in the system also kept Cruz from suffering the consequences of his bad behavior.