DENVER, Colo. — Denver Public Schools is offering self-defense training to its 45 school crossing guards as school officials say incidents of aggression from drivers and pedestrians have become more common.
Andrea Garcia, who manages crossing guards for Denver Public Schools, said the problem has worsened in recent years.
"Since COVID, it's gotten very aggressive out there," Garcia said. "People have gotten angrier. They've gotten more aggressive to the point that they want to get out of their cars."
For crossing guards like Amié Williams, a crossing guard at KIPP Northeast Campus, the work is personal.
“My kids go to that school. They needed help outside and were asking for volunteers,” she said. “And then ‘volunteer’ became a real position.”
But that dedication has come with challenges.
"We've had individuals jump out of their cars and yell at us," Williams said.
Williams is not alone — many of her colleagues have experienced similar things. Garcia told Denver7 those anecdotal experiences led her to come up with a solution to keep her team safe.
The training — two years in the making — is the district's first self-defense program for crossing guards. It is designed as a last resort if de-escalation techniques fail, whether the threat comes from a driver with road rage or an angry pedestrian.
"This is going to show them how to strike, when to move, pressure points that they can hit," she said.
The training also includes a new requirement for guards to report every incident to dispatch, so the district can begin tracking how frequently aggressive encounters occur.
Williams said the self-defense training has changed how she feels on the job.
"I would say it gives a different level of confidence, gaining this information knowing that I can protect myself in that way if needed," Williams said.
The training comes months after an incident at Mapleton Public Schools in Thornton, where police said a man stabbed a crossing guard outside Meadow Community School. That crossing guard was taken to the hospital and has since recovered.
"My heart was genuinely broken, genuinely, I mean, genuinely broken,” Garcia said. “This man did not know he was going to go to work that day and do a crossing guard duty that was added to his other duties, or whatever other primary role he played, and get stabbed.”
As the district works to improve safety, these guards are also making a direct appeal to the public.
"Respect the stop sign. It's there for a reason," Williams said.
Garcia echoed that message.
"We need to love one another and respect one another, and when we start doing that, more than less, it's going to be better," Garcia said.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.