[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="960.0"] Photo Courtesy of Umpqua Community College[/caption]

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Armed deputy starts patrols at Oregon community college

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An armed sheriff's deputy will begin patrolling an Oregon college where a gunman killed nine people and himself last month.

The Oregonian reports (http://bit.ly/1L84B74 ) that Douglas County deputy Scott Batsch began patrols at Umpqua Community College on Monday. When a shooter attacked the Roseburg campus on Oct. 1, there was one guard armed only with pepper spray.

Batsch is a recently retired deputy with experience as a school resource officer.

Umpqua's $30,000 contract with Douglas County will pay for Batsch to be on campus seven hours a day, five days a week through June 30. He will have a car on campus but mostly patrol on foot.

Oregon law says community colleges can't employ armed officers, but they can contract with police agencies for the service.

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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

 

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