BATAVIA, Ohio — Sgt. Chris Warner spends most of his workday inside Batavia Local School District’s buildings, standing at the doors each morning, walking the hallways between classes and showing up at sporting events as the Village of Batavia’s school resource officer, according to the Batavia Village Police Department.
The department introduced Warner’s role to the community this week in a video posted to its Facebook page, in which the sergeant described what the job looks like day to day, how he ended up doing the work and what he wants parents to know about having an officer stationed in their children’s schools.
Warner does not want to be seen as an outsider in the building, according to the department’s post. “He is not there to be a stranger in a uniform,” the department said, adding that Warner wants a student who needs help to know exactly who to walk up to, and wants parents to know there is someone in the building who knows their child by name.
Batavia Local School District, headquartered on Bulldog Place in the village, serves students in the county-seat community of about 2,000 residents. The Village of Batavia Police Department describes itself as providing full-service community policing for village residents and businesses, with officers handling patrol, code enforcement, traffic safety and community outreach in addition to school resource officer duties, according to the department’s website. Eric Williams serves as the village’s police chief.
The department asked residents with questions for Warner to call the Batavia Police Department at 513-732-5692.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Village of Batavia Police Department.