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Medford school resource officer criticized for passing over tip

MEDFORD, Mass. — In the wake of the school shooting in Florida and the threats made against schools here at home, people are suddenly paying a lot more attention to “school resource officers.”

SRO’s are police officers trained specifically to work with kids in a school environment.

Next week, as kids return to classrooms across Massachusetts, Medford schools will stay closed. A source told Boston 25 News the city will spend Monday reviewing safety protocols with school employees.

Now, Medford’s school resource officer is in hot water after investigators say he failed to follow-up on a tip after that a loaded gun magazine was found inside McGlynn Middle School.

“I can say this: the officer does feel bad for not following up on it at that time. He feels he left something behind,” Medford Police Chief Leo Sacco said.

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Chief Sacco says when the SRO asked school officials about the gun magazine, he was told it had already been handled by the superintendent. The officer never followed up and city officials, including the mayor and police, wouldn’t learn about the gun clip for seven more weeks.

That scandal in Medford--and the threats made against schools across the country—highlight the importance of school resource officers in our community.

Massachusetts law says a police chief must assign at least one SRO to serve that city or school district.  The SRO’s performance is reviewed annually by the police chief and superintendent.

Officers with less than two years of experience in a school environment must be certified in a week long, 40-hour basic SRO course.

“Your immediate response as a school resource officer if you’re working for the police department is to report that up the chain of command,” Boston 25 Security Expert Dan Linskey said.

He says SRO’s often feel the pull between the department they work for and the school they work in which they work.

“You’re never going to get yourself in trouble for pushing information up the chain of command you think they should have. You can find yourself having regrets by not pushing that information up to supervisors,” Linskey said.

Medford's police chief told Boston 25 News the SRO has not and will not be disciplined.

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