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Polk County gives sneak peak into armed school guard program

"If an armed assailant shows up on a campus with the intention of shooting your child, we are going to kill them grave yard dead with either a guardian or a school resource officer," Sheriff Grady Judd said.

BARTOW, Fla. – They’re answering the call to protect some of our most vulnerable.

“It's definitely an experience, it's great training," said Jocelyn Rodriguez. "It's absolutely the best trainers out here."

Rodriguez is vying to join the Polk County guardians program.

She's willing to put her life on the line if faced with a mass shooter in a school.

“Absolutely, it's about the kids at the end of the day.”

The positions were made possible under the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian program, which allows school districts to arm staff members, as part of the new law passed following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

Feis, an assistant football coach at Stoneman Douglass, died while shielding students from bullets.

MORE: Florida lawmakers stiff schools on safety program funds. Is arming teachers the only option?

Polk Schools Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd was willing to take on the program despite some backlash.

“There may be some people that's happy, some people that's not," she said. "But, at the end of the day our children deserve to be safe. These individuals, this is their sole duty. It's nothing else they'll be doing other than protecting our schools.”

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says there's a huge misunderstanding with the guardian program. It won't be random teachers carrying weapons, but highly trained individuals in uniform.

“If an armed assailant shows up on a campus with the intention of shooting your child, we are going to kill them grave yard dead with either a guardian or a school resource officer,” Judd said.

MORE: 'Just give us the tools' | Sheriff Grady Judd says we can prevent school violence

The sheriff's office is in charge of training the guardians.

Judd believes the time it takes for a patrol officer or school resource officer to respond to a mass shooter is not good enough.

“When seconds count, minutes do no good," he said.

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