Walk through the halls of Kelso High School on any given day and you’re likely to see student after student stopping to talk to or high-five School Resource Officer (SRO) Jeff Brown as he makes his rounds.
“Of all the people in this office,” said Principal Lacey DeWeert, “he’s the most popular.” She goes on to say students see him as a very safe adult. “He’s a positive presence. Students confide in him.”
An SRO is statutorily defined as a commissioned law enforcement officer who works in community-oriented policing and has the authority to make arrests. Assigned and employed by Kelso Police Department, Officer Brown’s job includes working within our schools to address crime and disorderly conduct, gangs, drug activities affecting or occurring in or around schools, and—as of 2021 per House Bill 1214—building positive relationships with students.
That’s no problem for Officer Brown. Dozens of students go out of their way to check-in with him every day. Twelfth-grader Kailynn Bradford is one of them. Bradford met Brown in her freshman year and has talked to him every day since.
“He’s always there,” she explains. “If I ever have a problem, I go talk to him.” The two of them even have a special handshake.
“I’d say the biggest, and my favorite, part of the job is being visible and interacting with students,” Brown says.
Don’t let the high-fives and special handshakes fool you. Officer Brown may have a warm and fuzzy side, but he’s got an edgy one, too. With 27 years on the force, he brings a depth of experience that will make anyone stand at attention. In addition to fifteen years in the field (the last four of which have been at Kelso High), he worked on a drug task force for seven years and as a crisis negotiator for five.
Even with all that experience, all SROs must go through an additional 13 units of training to do the job. That includes: constitutional and civil rights of children in schools, child and adolescent development, trauma-informed approaches for youth, recognizing and responding to youth mental health issues, educational rights of students with disabilities and best practices for interacting with them, de-escalation techniques for working with youth, restorative practices, bias free policing and cultural competency, and more. On top of that, they are required to get more training each year they’re on the job.
Of all the intense and challenging positions Officer Brown has held, being Kelso’s SRO is “far and above” his favorite. “It’s the hardest job I’ve ever loved,” he beams.
Ask anyone and they’ll tell you he’s very good at it. Or, as twelfth-grader Malachi Sexton says, “He’s outstanding. A true GOAT – greatest of all time.”