Parents are complaining that the NYPD is removing one of the last police officers assigned full-time to public schools in the wake of last month's Florida shooting.
Sgt. Raul Espinet is being removed from his post at Francis Lewis High School in Fresh Meadows, Queens, The New York Post reported.
Police told the Post that Espinet's position was eliminated because patrol officers in the new community policing units will visit the schools while on patrol.
The PTA says it's trying to reverse the decision. PTA co-president Linda Lovett called the move "ridiculous."
"All over the country they are telling you 'arm the teachers, get an officer in your school,'" Lovett told the Post. "New York City had a designated officer and they are actually cutting the program . . . they are making us less secure."
Armed police officers have been gradually eliminated from city schools since the 1990s. Unarmed school safety agents are stationed at all schools.
Parents told the Post that Bayside and Benjamin Cardozo high schools also lost full-time armed NYPD officers.
The shooting in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine's Day killed 17 people and renewed a nationwide debate about gun control and school safety.
