MP will bring in school resource officer after winter break

MT. PLEASANT — Beginning after winter break, Mt. Pleasant Community School District will welcome a school resource officer in partnership with the city police department.

“Having an individual dedicated to serve our schools will be a great benefit,” Superintendent John Henriksen said. “If we have a situation [in the school] at a moment’s notice we could notify [the resource officer] and they could engage because their focus is solely the school district.”

According to Henriksen, the school board sees this as an opportunity for the district to continue to strengthen an already well–established relationship with local law enforcement.

“It will help develop and strengthen relationships between students and the local police, too,” he said.

According to Mt. Pleasant Police Chief Lyle Murray, the police department has been active with the middle and high schools quite a bit.

“I hope this will deter some of the issues,” Murray said. “An officer presence could make incidences less.”

Another benefit, according to Murray, is that response times will be significantly quicker.

“Sometimes we hear about issues hours later, but with an officer on campus, students can bring concerns to the officer and he can get to work on it right away,” he said.

“Hopefully staff and students will feel more secure with an armed individual in the buildings,” Murray said.

While the officer will be a city employee, the school and city have come to a 28 E agreement outlining responsibilities of each entity in the employment.

“Lyle [Murray] is a coach and knows our schools,” Henriksen said of his confidence in the hiring process, “He is acquainted with the kind of person and personality that will work best with our schools.”

According to Police Chief Lyle Murray, two officers applied for the position.

“We looked for someone that is generally friendly, can talk with kids, has good boundaries, and understands how to communicate consequences for actions,” Murray said of the hiring process. “We think having someone older and who has already had kids would also be beneficial.”

Other attributes Murray looked for included a good sense of humor and “the ability to let it go in one ear and out another,” when a student says something for the purpose of gaining a reaction.

The school and police department selected Officer Brad Gillis to begin January 3.

There are still many details to be hashed out between the school and police department such as where Gillis’s office will be located, what his schedule will look like, and other specifics.

Murray and Henriksen look forward to Gillis creating relationships so students can come to him with questions and concerns.

According to the 28 E agreement, Gillis will be able to offer information to students on topics such as domestic violence, homelessness, drug abuse, and other issues they may not naturally feel comfortable reaching out to the police department for.

They are also hopefully to establish some proactive interactions such as classroom engagement on topics like cyberbullying. he can offer advice and resources.

“I think it is great for the district and the community and schools,” Murray said.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com