Photo courtesy of New London Community School District social media

Deputy Carlos Lopez with the Henry County Sheriff’s Office began as a part-time School Resource Officer with New London last fall. In just his first year with the district, Deputy Lopez has demonstrated a passion for keeping kids safe through several projects and initiatives.

The New London Community School District recently ran an emergency response drill, organized in large part by Deputy Lopez. In addition to his required responsibilities, he also just started a Safety Matters Newsletter which will be sent out periodically, and includes information for families and staff members regarding student safety.

As if that wasn’t enough, Deputy Lopez has taken part in Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) and kickstarted a project to get emergency response kits in every classroom in Henry County. Sheriff Rich McNamee explains, “Alert offers training in active incidents in a school, active incidents in a church, active incidents in a rural setting. So he’s gone to several of those trainings and he’s now an instructor in those avenues, so now he’s passionate about sharing that wealth of knowledge. He’s really excited about it and he came to me and said ‘what do you think about trying to get these response kits in every classroom?’ I said ‘let’s try it’, and he’s been very successful with it.”

Thanks to fundraising and grant awards, the Henry County Sheriff’s Office has raised more than $30,000 so far to go towards these kits and trainings.