Ramsey Sullivan
ECB Publishing, Inc.
After living in Tallahassee for a few short years, Dorian Bradley has come back to his hometown roots to serve his community. Bradley joined the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department on Oct. 1, 2013, and has since become a School Resource Officer at the Jefferson-Somerset Alternative School.
In 2018, Bradley decided to jump on an offer from Sheriff Mac McNeill to become a School Resource Officer, after serving at various sporting events and school activities at Jefferson-Somerset. “Since I had worked at school events, I already had good relationships with the staff and students at the school,” said Bradley. “I thought I’d be a good fit as the resource officer.”
As with any job, Bradley faces his fair share of ups and downs. “As a resource officer, you really try hard to guide them down the right path, but you’re still a cop, an authoritative figure,” said Bradley. “You can’t make them see the potential until they see it in themselves.”
Bradley is engaged to Alexia Bythewood, who also works at the school on the custodial staff.
Maurice Arnold, a 2003 graduate of Jefferson County, is one of two School Resource Officers at Jefferson-Somerset.
Arnold joined the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in 2018 and only recently began his journey at Jefferson-Somerset, after patrolling for the last two years and working as a corrections officer for eight and a half years before that. Arnold has always had a heart for children, and even contemplated becoming a teacher before accepting his position as a School Resource Officer.
“I love putting on my uniform and making a difference,” said Arnold. “I get to go to sporting events off campus, and I serve as both security and a coach because I’m always on the sidelines coaching. For me, it’s just about the involvement with the kids.”
Arnold gets his fair share of being with children, as he and his wife, Karen, have four children of their own.
Jerry Blackmon has seen plenty of kids come and go in his more than 20 years as a School Resource Officer, but his reason for doing his job has always been the same.
Like his colleagues, Blackmon was on patrol before accepting his current position. It was during these times that he decided his heart was to help children. “When I was on patrol, I’d answer calls and see kids who were struggling and needed a father figure,” said Blackmon. “I love kids and I wanted to try to mentor them and help them out as much as I can.”
In more than two decades, Blackmon has also seen a change in the dynamic between school kids and police officers. However, that has not kept him from forming relationships with the children.
“They [the kids] see the stuff that happens on TV, like people being beat up and they know that here [in Monticello] it’s not like that,” said Blackmon. “They understand that we’re out here to help them, not to harm them. We reach out to the kids and they trust us like a family member.”
Principal Cory Oliver is grateful for the work that Bradley, Blackmon and Arnold do with his students. He believes that having them on campus brings stability into the students’ lives.
“For them it’s about being examples and being student leaders,” says Oliver. “Having people around to keep kids accountable is very important, and it can’t just be a negative thing. These guys walk in every room every day and they’re involved in the kids’ lives, and I think that’s really important for them to be successful.”
School Resource Officers are the first line of defense against anyone or anything trying to harm the children of Jefferson County. However, in the hearts of Arnold, Blackmon and Bradley, the job is about mentoring the kids as much as it is about keeping them safe.
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