Here is the resource officer ..
NORTHFIELD — Starting Aug. 22, the halls of Pioneer Valley Regional
School and the school district’s four elementary schools will be graced
with a new face. Igor Komerzan, 26, of Northfield, has been named the
district’s new school resource officer.
The Northfield Police
Department was officially tasked with providing a resource officer
following the annual town meeting in May, when the town approved a $7.9
million budget that included money for the position.
However,
Northfield Police Chief Robert Leighton has had a hire in mind since
March, as Massachusetts mandates all school districts in the state to
employ at least one school resource officer for the 2016-2017 school
year and beyond. Leighton said he knew right away that Komerzan would be
a great fit for the position.
“He has a great personality, he’s very easy to talk with and he interacts with young people very well,” Leighton said.
Positive interactions Komerzan
was born in Moldova, and came to the United States with his family in
1999, settling in Turners Falls. Growing up, he remembers believing that
police were the bad guys, and didn’t have any interaction with them to
lead him to believe otherwise.
So, at the age of 10, when he was playing with his brother in
Turners Falls, Komerzan was surprised to have a positive experience with
friendly neighborhood officers.
As the officers approached,
Komerzan was worried he and his brother would get in trouble. As it
turned out, the officers were simply looking for a missing girl. Later,
Komerzan remembers the officers bringing them candy.
“Looking
back, that was the first defining moment,” Komerzan said, the one that
made him want to become a police officer himself.
Komerzan
attended Greenfield Community College, where he earned an associate
degree in criminal justice. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in
criminal justice at American International College in 2014.
Since
he entered law enforcement in 2012, Komerzan has worked for Bernardston
and Northfield police departments. He graduated from the Massachusetts
State Police Academy in February 2015.
Komerzan said many
children’s perception of police is based on videos they see on
television and the internet. Komerzan hopes the district’s children will
be able to have positive interactions with him, like what he was able
to have with officers when he was young, so they can develop new,
positive perceptions of police.
“Hopefully, by having that communication, we’ll be able to identify problems before they start,” Leighton added.
Responsibilities Komerzan
will have three main roles: as a law enforcement officer, law-related
counselor and law-related educator. Some of his responsibilities will
include teaching students the consequences of unacceptable behavior;
developing emergency crisis plans; handling situations involving
possible weapons violations and the identification of dangerous
substances; and deterring trespassers on campus.
Leighton plans
for Komerzan to be involved in teaching classes where he could share his
knowledge about the fourth amendment, constitutional rights, democracy,
the judicial process, forensic science, the detrimental effects of
drugs and alcohol, and more.
As a certified CPR instructor, Komerzan could also teach the high-schoolers how to perform CPR.
“Maybe we can teach them skills that I didn’t have the chance to learn when I was in high school,” Komerzan said.
After
he takes a two-week class that will teach him how to pass on knowledge
about drugs, alcohol, bullying, violence and personal safety to
children, Komerzan hopes to implement the Drug Abuse Resistance
Education (DARE) program at each of the district’s four elementary
schools.
Safety first “The whole initiative
is to make our schools safer,” Leighton said of employing a resource
officer. “We owe it to our children to provide a safe learning
environment … This is the natural next step for our department and for
community policing.”
“In the wake of the school violence that has
happened across our country, it’s just a smart move,” Leighton
continued. “Just because this is a rural area doesn’t mean that bad
things don’t happen.”
Leighton added that, in the process,
Komerzan will participate in school functions and truly become a part of
the school community.
Before school starts, Komerzan will attend a
40-hour class with the National Association of School Resource Officers
in Wakefield, R.I., where he will learn more about his
responsibilities, interacting with juveniles, identifying at-risk
children and intervention responses.
