On Monday, April 7, Officer Ben Sandy was selected to be the Atlantic Community School District’s School Resource Officer (SRO). Before stepping into the SRO role, Sandy has been a police officer for three and a half years. “One year as a city officer with Centerville PD and 2.5 years as a deputy with Wayne County Sheriff’s Office,” he said. Sandy said, “I have many favorite parts of being an officer, but the most rewarding is seeing the difference in real time by handling incidents with professionalism and respect.”
Officer Sandy chose to work as the Atlantic Community School District’s SRO because, “the city has many things for my kiddos to do and the city still has a small town charm,” he said. Sandy originally applied for the position “because it was a specialized position. In the 3.5 I have been in law enforcement I hadn’t found my niche. I came to the conclusion that I needed to try something outside of the typical patrol officer duties and I believe that SRO was an excellent fit.” He said, “I am excited to be working within the school district and being the community outreach for the police department also within the school district.”
Prior to the end of the school year, officer Sandy will be completing additional training for his new School Resource Officer position. According to KJAN News, “Officer Sandy will spend his first week getting to know our town and he will also spend some time shadowing the Shelby County SRO.”
Having a school resource officer is not a new occurrence for Atlantic schools. Atlantic High School Principal Heather McKay used to have an SRO when she was teaching. “Our SRO’s in the past were fantastic. […] the way they would work with our young people is awesome,” McKay said. She is excited to have a resource in the school district for the “kind of impact he can have” on the whole district. “Sadly in the event that if anything illegal happens he will be our first point of contact.” McKay said, “hopefully he can help use that as an educational moment.” The biggest thing McKay wants students to realize with having a SRO is that, “I don’t want kids to be afraid. I hope they will also take the initiative to introduce themselves and to see him as an ally.”
