County considers school cop for Medford

A school resource officer may end up patrolling the halls of Medford Schools beginning with the next school year under a plan outlined by the Steele County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Lon Thiele said his office has been awarded a $125,000 grant for a school resource officer through Community Oriented Policing Services or COPS, a federally funded program administered by the U.S. Department of Justice. This is the first time Steele County has ever been awarded a COPS grant, he said.
The Steele County Board was to consider the grant at its regular board meeting Tuesday night after this edition went to press. Thiele said the board’s decision would be one of the last steps before it goes to the Medford School Board for its approval.
The COPS grant would cover 75% of a licensed deputy’s position for three years, up to $125,000, according to Thiele. The remaining 25% would likely be split between the county and school district.
Thiele would like to eventually expand the SRO to include NRHEG Elementary School in Ellendale. Both Medford and Ellendale contract with the sheriff’s office for police coverage. Thiele said he is in preliminary talks with NRHEG about the SRO program. “Ellendale isn’t ready at this time, but they are showing a strong interest in the future,” he said, noting the school is currently experiencing uncertain finances due to COVID-19.
When school isn’t in session, the SRO deputy would provide regular shift coverage for the sheriff’s office. During school the deputy could be pulled for emergencies, but Thiele stressed school would be the priority. “This is a win-win for the county,” he says.
Sheriff Thiele says there have been a couple occasions in the past where a SRO would have been helpful at Medford Schools.
Incidents where police services are needed within the schools are not unusual. Thiele pointed to Owatonna where an incident took place at the high school requiring a large police presence in 2019.
A big benefit of the SRO program, Thiele said, will be the networking between police and students. “This is something where the officer will be able to interact with children long-term,” he said. “Students will be able to understand law enforcement, and law enforcement will understand students.”
Some of the metro schools have pulled away from having SROs after racial unrest earlier this year related to the killing of George Floyd. But Thiele said SROs would be valuable in rural schools. “We’re fortunate to be out state enough to still be able to have a connection with the students,” he said.
Thiele noted that most COPS grants often go to metro police agencies. “Every once in a while outstate gets lucky,” he said. “This year Steele County was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of a COPS grant,” he added.
With all the events going on around the world, especially in schools, Thiele felt it was as important as ever to apply for a COPS grant to get a SRO going in Steele County.
“We need to have more positive interaction with students before it’s too late,” Thiele said.