Des Moines Register
11-15-07
ISU police first to carry guns after policy change
By ERIN JORDAN • REGISTER STAFF WRITER • November 15, 2007
Iowa State University's sworn police officers began carrying guns Monday, less
than two weeks after the Iowa Board of Regents approved a policy allowing
arming of campus police for the first time in 40 years.
"Our position has always been that police should carry firearms," said ISU Police
Cmdr. Gene Deisinger. "It's unfortunate there is undue attention to the
weapons."
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Iowa State is the first of Iowa's public universities to regularly arm police.
University of Iowa Public Safety officials are still reviewing policies and officer
qualifications, U of I spokesman Steve Parrott said.
University of Northern Iowa police are moving forward a little more slowly than
the other departments, partly because UNI faculty groups largely opposed the
change, Public Safety Director Dave Zarifis said.
The department has created a Public Safety Advisory Board that will meet Nov.
30 and give input into a timeline for arming, he said.
The regents voted 6-2 on Oct. 31 for a comprehensive security plan that includes
arming campus police - a change long sought by the public safety directors.
Iowa's public universities were the only schools in their athletic conferences that
did not allow officers to carry guns.
The security policy also requires the universities to set up an emergency
communication system, seek early identification of people who may be a threat to
themselves or the campus, and establish additional training programs for campus
police.
The policy mandates a written report each time a gun is fired outside of training.
Any officer who causes serious injury or death would be placed on administrative
leave pending a review of the incident, which is common practice in law
enforcement agencies.
ISU's 28 police officers now carry Sig Sauer p229, .40-caliber, semiautomatic
pistols in gun holsters. The police department has had the guns for several
years, but officers were not allowed to carry them unless granted case-by-case
permission by the university president.
The department did not have to purchase any additional guns to arm all officers,
Deisinger said.
U of I police also use the Sig Sauer .40-caliber pistols and will not need to
purchase additional weapons. UNI police use the Glock 22, .40-caliber pistol and
will not need additional weapons to regularly arm each sworn officer, Zarifis said.