Longmont Public Safety is back with another Friday staff feature. The goal is to introduce the community to staff, highlighting jobs and services the public may not be aware of. With schools back in session, this week's feature is School Resource Officer Zach McDonnell.
Zach’s been a patrol officer in Longmont for almost five years. However, this year Zach went back to school… to serve as a School Resource Officer at Longmont High School (LHS), providing a safe space for all LHS students and staff.
1. Where are you from?
SRO McDonnell grew up in southern California and attended college in Arizona. Zach had friends and family in Longmont that resulted in a move to Longmont, which ended up complimenting his love for the mountains and the rivers of Colorado.
2. Favorite spot in Longmont?
Zach said that Macintosh Lake is one of his favorites. It is a favorite of his as there are always many people out there on the weekends having a good time. He likes walking around and engaging in conversations with area residents enjoying the out of doors. He thinks that people in Longmont are super welcoming. In the summer, people are always barbequing and offering up food to officers. It is just a great place to be.
3. What do residents ask most frequently about your job?
One of the most common questions he is asked about is regarding writing students tickets. SROs do not write tickets to kids who get in trouble at school just because they are in trouble; it has to be criminal related. The first option for a SRO is to see if other resources exist that would be more beneficial in preventing the behavior. Then it really depends on what type of crime they committed, what the student’s personal history is, and the impact it had on the victim of the crime. SROs look at all of these factors closely before they even think about writing a ticket to a kid. This is not a one and done situation. It is a process of talking with that student, getting to know that student, and seeing what we can do to prevent that type of behavior from happening in the future.
4. What is the goal of having SROs in the school?
SRO McDonnell stated that the biggest goal of having an SRO in the school is building relationships with those in the educational environment, like students, teachers, staff, counselors, and coaches. SROs want to build relationships and specifically those relationships that create a positive influence; so that students know they have a safe person to talk to if, something is going wrong. It is beneficial to build this relationship with the students so that if the SRO recognizes the student is troubled they can try to reach out to them before a situation escalates. Of course, there is the law enforcement element; SROs are also there to ensure all students and staff are safe in case there is an emergency. Most of the SROs responsibility is teaching, mentoring, counseling, and maintaining that positive connection. The primary role is maintaining relationships with students they have someone to come to when they are in need so SROs can offer options other than the criminal justice system.
5. What attracted you to this position?
What does this job mean to you? Service is what attracted Officer McDonnell to this position. He came from a family of public servants and took the same route. What led him to become a police officer was the Longmont community. When he moved to Colorado, he moved to Longmont and loved the community so much that he could not think of a better place to work. He finds the job is always changing and he likes that officers never do the same thing twice in one day. SRO McDonnell loves building relationships, meeting people, and really getting to know the community. At the end of the day, he wants to help, so officers have the opportunity to do this in a variety of ways. We just want to be a part of our community and give back in any way we can.
6. Favorite food of all time? Chicken Fried Steak.
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