Officer Blake Chalmers with the Peculiar Police Department is the new School Resource Officer in Peculiar.
He replaces former SRO Rick Clausing, who was recently promoted to Sergeant within the Police Department. On days school is in session, Officer Chalmers will be based at Ray-Pec South Middle School and be available to support the high school campus, Ray-Pec Academy, Shull Early Learning Center, Peculiar Elementary School, and all district facilities in Peculiar.
Officer Chalmers is a 2015 graduate of Ray-Pec High School. After high school, he served in the U.S. Army, and then moved back to Peculiar with his fiancé.
Officer Chalmers began working at the Peculiar Police Department in April of 2019 as a patrol officer. He said he is excited to come back to Ray-Pec as the school resource officer. He will work through Oct. 22 with Sgt. Clausing for a smooth transition.
The School District has two other School Resource Officers.
Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Cole Briscoe was previously based at South Middle School. He will now be based at Ray-Pec High School.
Raymore Police Officer Rebekah Burns supports all Raymore schools and Ray-Pec East Middle School.
The SRO positions are part of the district’s continuing effort to enhance safety and security for staff, students, and visitors. In addition to handling law enforcement matters, School Resource Officers occasionally assist with educational programming for students, presentations to parents, facility safety assessments, and staff training.
Mutual aid agreements between the local law enforcement agencies allow the officers to assist each other, if needed.