Valley cop invents safety device for use in school shootings
YOUNGSTOWN
The problem for William Barna, a police officer for 28 years and an instructor at the Youngstown State University Police Academy, was a simple one: How to keep someone from getting into a room when others are sheltering there for safety.
Locked doors can often be kicked in or defeated in another way. So Barna came up with a way to secure the door from the bottom and from the inside.
The result: The Bolo Stick, a simple, easy to use steel contraption bolted to the floor behind the door. A steel pin is inserted into the device to keep the door from opening. It can withstand up to two tons of force.
Barna, a police officer in Trumbull County, said he got to thinking about the problem when he was instructing cadets at the police academy on techniques dealing with mass shootings in a public place, and how people are advised to go into a room and lock themselves inside and hide.
With the Bolo Stick, you can lock the door but also secure it at the bottom so it can’t open.
Learn more about this local cop's invention in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.