Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

A different kind of beat

It takes a special kind of police officer to be a school resource officer, according to Clark County Sheriff Ray Wingfield, and that is what he and others say they found in Clark County Deputy Thomas Free.

In August, Free became the Gurdon School Districts first school resource officer after a grant from the Cabe Foundation funded the position. He joins a growing number of SROs being hired across the country, Wingfield said and is the third in Clark County.

With only a few months on the job, Wingfield said he already feels that the program has been a success.

As far as were concerned, its working out great, he said. Im getting great feedback from the administration.

Free said he is happy to be working with the students at Gurdon and said he realizes that the job is not for everyone because it is completely different from other forms of law enforcement.

Here you see where other people are affecting the kids, Free said. Its not boring here.

Free said that officers working routine patrols often spend a majority of their shifts dealing with negative situations, but he is mostly faced with happy students and administrators that make his day go by smooth.

There are the occasional bumps, however. Since being at the school, Free said he has made eight arrests on campus that have dealt with fighting and other disturbances.

Free said he has developed a relationship with many of the students that has led to some bringing information of potential fights to him.

I know of at least two fights we were able to head off, Free said.

Wingfield says that is exactly one of the reasons schools are implementing the SRO program. It is also a way to help students realize that the police are not their enemy.

Part of the SRO program will allow Free to present a variety of safety programs to the students at GHS and CMS.

If we can impact one child and keep them out of our court system then weve been successful, he said.

Libby White, principal at Cabe Middle School, said she has been very pleased with Frees work as he is used at both CMS and Gurdon High School.

Hes been received very well, and he really shows and interest in the kids, she said.

White said Free often sits in on different classrooms and helps with lunch sessions and afterschool traffic.

Lenord Gills, principal at Gurdon High School, agrees with White. He said just the presence of Frees patrol car parked in front of the school is potentially heading off trouble before it starts. Free also helps with some discipline matters at the high school.

Its nice to have him here to help handle those things, Gills said.

Wingfield said that although the program has only been funded for a single to date, the Cabe Foundation has said they will review the program at the end of the year and consider funding it once again. The original grant application requested a five year financing of the program.