Nash County Schools add five school resource officers to district's elementary schools

On Feb. 13, the Rocky Mount City Council approved the decision to add the new SRO positions, which are fully funded by grant money awarded to Nash County Public Schools.

The five officers will cover seven elementary schools in the city limits.

“To ensure that our kids and our teachers who educate our kids are safe, having these SROs in our schools does that,” said Rocky Mount Police Chief Robert Hassell.

Rocky Mount police currently have seven SROs covering Nash County Public Schools’ middle and high schools. Police said, “this change is about listening and responding to stakeholder needs.”

Hassell said he supported the move.

“With the different acts of violence at our schools that have been occurring around our country, it always makes you think, ‘could that happen in your community?’” Hassell said.

Hassell acknowledged an SRO could not have stopped the boy from brining the unloaded gun to Fairview Elementary School last week. However, he said having an officer on campus would have helped school administrators respond to the incident safely.

“I think it helps having an SRO there ensuring that if anything suspicious, any threats that may try to come on to our campus, that SRO would be there to prevent that threat,” Hassell said.

On Monday, WRAL News heard from Davis’ family for the first time. Davis’ mother said the gun didn’t work properly and wasn’t a threat. She also said her son would fight the charges in court.

“I don’t know what all the big commotion [is] about,” Davis’ mother said. “I could see if he went to school with a loaded gun and the gun [does] fire, but the gun [doesn’t] even fire.”

Investigators disputed Davis’ mom’s claim.

“We did a review and we tested that weapon, so to my understanding, that weapon was functional,” Hassell said.