The Lakeport Police Department (LPD) and the Lakeport Unified School District (LUSD) would like to announce the assignment of Officer Ryan Cooley as the district’s new School Resource Officer (SRO). Officer Cooley is replacing Officer Victor Rico who has served as the SRO for the past three years and has been promoted to an investigator position at the LPD. Officer Rico will continue to support the district by teaching the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program (DARE) for the remainder of this school year. Before being assigned this week, Officer Cooley completed a state certified campus law enforcement training course and will officially begin his duties at LUSD on Thursday, Oct. 17.
The SRO program continues to be possible due to a partnership between the LUSD School Board and the City Council of the City of Lakeport, with LUSD providing the majority of the funding. We appreciate the support and commitment of this program from the city and school board.
All involved officials believe that placement of a police officer on the school grounds will greatly enhance the safety of all students, staff and visitors on the campuses. Additionally, as past experience has shown we can assist students and have a positive impact on their lives.
The primary focus of the SRO program is to build partnerships with students, parents and school staff in the interest of keeping all of our campuses safe as well as guiding students toward making the right choices. We are confident that Officer Cooley will be a great addition to the district and we look forward developing a strong, working relationship with him.
We thank Officer Rico for his past service and welcome Officer Cooley to this new role.
Officer Cooley will cover all LUSD campuses and his office will be located at Terrace Middle School. He will also be part of the LUSD Safety Committee. He can be reached by phone at 707-262 2192 or by email at [email protected]
We would encourage anyone having additional questions about the SRO program to contact the police or school district administrations.
Brad Rasmussen, Chief of Police
Jill Falconer, District Superintendent
Photo: Officer Cooley shown with Clear Lake High School Students
