On July 24, 2023, the Plano City Council granted unanimous approval for the Plano Police Department's acquisition of 165 light-weight rifle shields from Armor Research Company, totaling an estimated cost of $414,934.
According to the agenda item’s memo, the Patrol Division currently comprises 210 officers and 26 school resource officers assigned to 27 schools under the School Resource Officer (SRO) program. Within Plano's city limits, the police’s responsibilities extend to 65 ISD schools, accommodating over 50,000 students, with the addition of 23 private primary schools in Plano. Officers are also responsible for responding to calls from various establishments, including businesses, churches, public facilities and residences.
Among the available rifle shields, only two are assigned to the Patrol Division, while the remaining four are designated for use by SWAT. The primary purpose behind acquiring these rifle shields is to equip every marked patrol car, operated by a uniformed officer, with a breaching tool and rifle shield. Each school with an on-site assigned SRO would also have access to a rifle shield for enhanced security measures.
“The Plano Police Department currently has a very limited number of ballistic shields available to first responders,” the agenda memo read. “If not funded, the efficient and effective response to an active threat incident could be severely delayed or create a substantially higher risk of serious bodily injury or death to members of the community, fire rescue and police personnel.”
The occurrence of active shooter incidents is increasing in frequency over the years. According to the FBI's records, there were 31 incidents in 2017, 30 incidents in 2018/2019, 40 incidents in 2020 (a 33% increase) and 61 incidents in 2021 (a 53% increase).
The FBI's report also highlighted that rifles are employed in approximately 27% of active shooter events in the United States. In the specific active shooter/threat incidents that transpired within the city of Plano at NTT Data/Spring Creek Pkwy, the perpetrators used rifles in both cases.
