13 Denver schools expected to have school resources officer on campus through end of school year
Denver Police Department plans to provide school resource officers at more than a dozen Denver Public Schools campuses through the end of the school year. This decision comes following two shootings that rocked the East High School community in February and March.
According to a recent press release, DPD confirms SROs will be assigned to the following 13 schools in the district:
- East HS (Two SROs assigned because it is the largest high school)
- West HS
- North HS
- South HS
- Manual HS
- Thomas Jefferson HS
- George Washington HS
- Abraham Lincoln HS
- John F. Kennedy HS
- Montbello HS
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College
- Northfield HS
- Evie Dennis Campus
"Additionally, an officer in each of the six DPD districts is assigned as a liaison to the middle and high schools in their respective districts," DPD shared in the press release. "The liaisons act as a point of contact and resource to discuss safety concerns for school leaders who do not have an assigned SRO at their school. This liaison program was started at the direction of Chief [Ron] Thomas following the fatal shooting of Luis Garcia near the East High School campus on Feb. 13."
Garcia attended East High School, and his school community was still mourning his death when another fellow student — suspect Austin Lyle — was accused of shooting two administrators on East High's campus on March 22. Lyle left the campus following the response the shooting, and he was found dead in Park County during the late hours of that day, his identity confirmed the morning after the shooting.
The two administrators recovering from injuries in the shooting on March 22 are Jerald Mason, the dean of culture at East High School and Eric Sinclair, the coordinator of a restorative program. Mason has since been released from the hospital, and Sinclair was hospitalized in fair condition as of March 31.
RELATED:
- As school resource officers return to DPS campuses, concerns that led to their removal remain
- Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas discusses SROs in DPS schools after recent shootings: "I don't think that SROs are the end all be all to safety"
- DPS School Board Vice President Auon'tai 'Tay' Anderson addresses reintroduction of SROs
