Saco Police Department pays it forward

SACO — When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and schools closed, the Saco Police department swiftly adapted to the needs of the city, transforming its school resource officer program into a community resource program.

Instead of walking the halls of schools, community resource officers are making wellness checks and delivering meals to the elderly, and conducting virtual and drive by visits to students.

These efforts have not only impacted the community, but also caught the eye of Aftermath Services LLC. The nation-wide crime scene cleanup and biohazard remediation company held a "Pay it Forward" video contest asking first responders to demonstrate how they go above and beyond the call of duty to serve their communities in situations like the COVID-19 pandemic. A video submitted by Saco which highlighted School Resource Officer Morgan Royle and the city’s community policing program won the grand prize of 150 personal protective equipment kits and $5,000.

The Saco Police decided to pay it forward again, and worked with Public Safety Commissioner Michael Sauschuck to allocated additional funding to bring bias-awareness training to law enforcement agencies across the state.

“When we learned we were recipients of the grand prize, the question became, what are we going to do with the money,” said Police Chief Jack Clements at a press conference at the Saco Police Station on Tuesday morning. He said the department felt it would be short-sighted to use the money for only the Saco police department, as other police departments across the state work just as hard as Saco in community engagement.

“He’s not thinking about just his agency or just his community. He truly wants to reach out across the state and have an impact,” said Sauschuck.

Thirty people – 15 law enforcement executives and 15 key community stakeholders- will participate in the day and a half training through training provider Fair and Impartial Policing. The training will discuss the science of bias, how biases can manifest in policing, the consequences of biased policing, and the skills that police need to produce impartial policing, according to a press release from the city of Saco.

Clements said that police receive bias training at the police academy, but it’s always good to have more education.

“I think it’s important that we keep this on the forefront, and if we can bring in a national company to provide more training, and maybe give us a different look at things, that’s really important for the entire state,” said Clements.

Sauschuck said he liked that this training would engage police departments with community members and foster important conversations as police departments and communities work toward a long-term solution.

The winning video can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=GuEJgsJmekE .   It features Royle in her new role as community resource officer, engaging with students through an online story-time with her goats, building relationships with seniors as she delivers meals, and going above and beyond the call of duty by walking a senior’s dog.

“I think this video really highlights Saco police department’s vision, which is to be the safest community through professional and compassionate policing. That’s really what we are about,” said Clements.

Royle has been with the Saco Police Department for nearly two years and became a school resource officer last year. She said she enjoys her new role as a community resource officer as it gives her the opportunity to help people and make positive connections in the community.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobayanews.com.