MEDINA, Ohio — Inside the communications center at the Medina County Sheriff's Office, law enforcement officers and local school superintendents focused their attention on a 128-square-foot LED video wall as a drone provided a regular, and infrared view, above the Medina County Career Center.
Other monitors showed the images another drone captured while flying inside the school.
School Resource Officer Mike Snider told those in the room that a "suspect" had gone down a hallway and into a criminal justice room.
It was only a scenario about an "active situation" in the school, but the demonstration showed how a live feed can provide critical real-time information and situational awareness in the event of an intruder or school shooting.
"It's important for us to be on the scene before we're on the scene, so it allows the dispatchers to pull the camera up and give updates on what is happening before the officers get there," said Jonelle Meredith, director of emergency communications for the MCSO.
The elaborate video system, which cost $55,000, was paid for through Ohio Attorney General school safety grants obtained by four school systems.
"We can act to keep everybody safe, so yeah, why wouldn't we do this?" said Jeff Stanton, superintendent of the Buckeye Local School District. "We absolutely need our students and staff to be safe every single day. It's the most important thing we do."
The video wall ties into about a dozen schools and hundreds of cameras in the Buckeye, Highland, and Cloverleaf School Districts, as well as the Medina County Career Center.
Stephanie Lichty, who has a 10th grade daughter at Buckeye High School, said school safety and security is top-of-mind for her.
"You see all these horrible stories on the news, and as a parent, you struggle with that," Lichty said.
She watched the demonstration on Wednesday and said the video wall gives her some peace of mind.
"It's a sense of relief knowing that they can visualize what's going on and get the kids and the teachers the help they need as quickly as possible."
Meredith said the cameras already saved valuable time when a Buckeye student recently suffered a medical emergency.
"We witnessed the seizure of a student in the room and to be able to direct that responding agency to the location quicker," Meredith said.
Lichty is grateful for the video wall partnership between the schools and law enforcement and feels it's a sign of the times.
"I think it's something that is just our new norm, and it's there for the right reasons."
