After exiting his patrol vehicle, Jesse Hutchinson walks toward the school building and watches as parents drop off their children for the day.
Once all of the kids are inside the school, he makes sure they are where they are supposed to be and ensures everything is running smoothly. Then he goes down the hallways and checks the doors and looks in on the classrooms.
As students pass between classes, he interacts with them. If administration needs him to tag along on a home visit, talk to a student or assist with an issue, he takes time out to do it.
Then as students leave for the day on the bus or in a vehicle, he’s back out in the parking lot ensuring their safety before he heads home for the day, too.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryIn recent weeks, that has been Hutchinson’s typical schedule as a new school resource officer for Crothersville Community School Corp. and Medora Community School Corp.
He has served at Medora since the beginning of the school year and also spent time as a patrol officer outside school hours. Since adding Crothersville to his schedule Oct. 19, he is solely an SRO.
“I have enjoyed every aspect of it,” Hutchinson said. “I enjoy working with kids. Kids are our future, and I enjoy being there and being in that role model position for them. I enjoy giving them something that they can look at and go ‘Maybe I want to do that’ or ‘Maybe I want to act like him.’ Getting face to face with the kids and interacting with them, that’s probably the best part for me.”
Hutchinson serving in that capacity means all four Jackson County public school corporations now have dedicated school resource officers.
In July, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department was awarded a Community Oriented Police Services, or COPS, grant totaling $250,000 to pay for the salaries and benefits for two new officers. Sheriff Rick Meyer wanted one of them to be an SRO for Medora and Crothersville since Brownstown Central and Seymour already have SROs.
The grant covers approximately 75% of the total costs, while the Jackson County Council agreed to pay the other 25%.
This will be over a three-year period. After that time, the county will be asked to assume the total cost of the officers’ salaries and benefits.
“The safety of this community is of the utmost importance, and I appreciate the support of our county council to unanimously approve these new officers,” Meyer said. “Proactively seeking out grants allows us to leverage our tax dollars to better protect and serve our community.”
Hutchinson has worked for the sheriff’s department for 14 years. He was a jailer for four and a half years before becoming a patrol officer.
After being awarded the grant, Meyer asked Hutchinson about being an SRO and thought he would be a good fit.
“I thought about it for a while and thought ‘That’s something I really want to do,'” Hutchinson said.
In late July, he attended a weeklong National Association of School Resource Officers course in Michigan City. There, he learned how to be an SRO and how to develop relationships in a school setting. He also learned the three roles of SROs: Law enforcement officer, counselor and teacher.
He said first and foremost, an SRO is a law enforcement officer.
“I’m here to assist the school in any capacity that they would need,” Hutchinson said. “It may not always result in me using a law enforcement approach, but I’m here if something would ever arise that we could deal with immediately and really catch it before it gets any worse.”
It’s also about letting kids know police officers have good intentions and are there to help.
Some students have only known law enforcement in a bad way because they’ve had to intervene at home, Hutchinson said.
“I want to be there and I want to show them in a positive way that we are here to help them, and maybe if we intervene and assist them at this younger age that we don’t have to deal with them in a negative way later on down the road and they would come to us if they would ever need something,” he said.
As a counselor, an SRO can talk to kids about any issues they may be having at home or school.
“I’m here and able to talk to them and try to help them get the resources they need or the help that they need,” Hutchinson said. “They want to talk to somebody and tell somebody what’s going on, someone that they can trust that won’t judge them for what’s going on in their lives and really try to help them out. That’s why I’m here.”
Hutchinson said he hasn’t done too much in the teacher role yet, but he has been in talks with administrators about some possibilities.
First-year Crothersville Junior-Senior High School Principal Doug Ballinger said he’s working with Hutchinson to get every student who graduates to be certified in CPR, automated external defibrillators, Stop the Bleed, suicide prevention, Heimlich maneuver, gun safety, first aid, fire safety, school safety, internet safety, water safety, food safety, human trafficking training and education and more.
He said Hutchinson will take an active role in teaching the students, so the hope is to get him a teaching license as a result of this experience.
“This could bring about a whole new type of relationship between schools and agencies,” Ballinger said.
So far, Ballinger said Hutchinson has been able to help solve ongoing traffic issues at the school since the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in more parents bringing their kids to school.
“In addition, his network of connections has helped us getting simple issues resolved, such as finding bus drivers to transport our students when our drivers are unavailable,” Ballinger said.
He said Hutchinson’s demeanor and personality bring with it a sense of calm and professionalism.
“In this political climate of ‘defunding the police,’ I think it is imperative for students and community members to get to know these officers personally to learn the true job of an officer and their value to our society and community that they bring,” Ballinger said.
Crothersville Elementary School Principal Drew Markel said along with traffic control, Hutchinson has assisted with school safety planning.
“The SRO benefits Crothersville Community Schools by helping ensure a safe and secure campus, educating students about law-related topics and mentoring students,” Markel said.
“We are very appreciative that Sheriff Rick Meyer and his department wrote this grant for additional officers in the county,” Markel said. “As a small school, obtaining the budget to provide an SRO is difficult. We have been able to utilize grant funds for physical security improvements in the past. This initiative now gives us the ability to couple that with an SRO.”
Medora Principal Austin Skutnik said Hutchinson has been a really positive presence throughout the school building.
“Our kids look forward to seeing him in the hallways and are always stopping to say hello,” she said. “I believe there is a sense of comfort that comes with having an officer like Jesse in our building. He is very diligent about walking the halls, checking doorways, stopping to ask our staff if there is anything they need. He is always willing to help out any way he can.”
From a safety standpoint, having someone in the building who is well-versed in safety measures, able to help out and provide valuable information in regards to drills and other procedures has been invaluable, Skutnik said.
“Our corporation is very fortunate to have him as a part of our team,” she said.
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Jackson County school resource officers
Brownstown Central Community School Corp.: Adam Behmlander and Samuel Hughes
Crothersville Community School Corp.: Jesse Hutchinson
Medora Community School Corp.: Jesse Hutchinson
Seymour Community School Corp.: Jack Hauer, Chadd Rogers, Seth Sage and Keith Williams
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