New School Resource Officer Assigned To Newtown High School

By Andrew Gorosko

Police Officer Domenic Costello says he looks forward to the challenges he will face as the new school resource officer at Newtown High School, a job that places a sworn police officer in the school where more than 1,600 students attend classes.

Officer Costello replaces Officer Steve Ketchum, who served in that assignment since April 2003. Officer Ketchum has returned to police patrol work.

Since joining the police department in October 2003, Officer Costello has been a patrolman, working rotating shifts during which he would patrol the town, responding to emergencies and calls for help, as needed.

Officer Costello, 28, graduated from Fairfield University in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He graduated from Quinnipiac University in 2002 with a law degree. He grew up in Bridgeport.

He later worked as a law clerk for a judge in Bridgeport, as a research associate for a law firm, and as a human resources director for mental health clinic, before becoming a police officer.

Officer Costello explains that law enforcement is in his blood, with six of his relatives either having served or now serving as police officers. Those include his grandfather, father, uncle, and two brothers-in-law.

His keen interest in law enforcement was sparked while growing up in an environment where police work was a common topic of conversation, he said.

Officer Costello said that when he saw a job posting in the police station for the position of school resource officer at the high school, he knew that such a specialty position would be a good situation for him.

Police Chief Michael Kehoe said Officer Costello “shows a high degree of energy and enthusiasm… He’s a mature, reserved individual. I think he will fit very nicely in a school setting as a police officer.”

As the high school’s resource officer, Officer Costello is attached to the police department’s seven-member detective division. Police officers who have served as school resource officers and as youth officers in the past often have advanced through the ranks, attaining management positions in the police department.

As the resource officer, Officer Costello will assist school administrators with law enforcement in a school environment, including student discipline. School resource officers also have an educational function, serving as mentors, role models, or exemplars for students who seek their counsel.

“I like working with kids,” Officer Costello said, adding that an interesting component of the resource officer’s position is the Student Police Academy. The Student Police Academy is a multiweek informational program at which high school students learn about the various facets of law enforcement and the criminal justice system. The police department conducts a similar program for adults each spring known as Citizen Police Academy.

As the school resource officer, Officer Costello will give talks to student groups on various aspects of law enforcement, as requested by teachers.

Officer Costello recently received specialized training in California provided by the National Association of School Resource Officers. The organization has 9,000 members nationwide. The group provides training in juvenile law, student drug/alcohol abuse, and family services. The policeman also received training in safeguarding a school campus in the event that a dire emergency occurs.

Last March, the presence of a man with a loaded gun in the vicinity of the high school resulted in a lockdown there and at other public schools in town.

The school resource officer’s post has a social work component, Officer Costello said, noting that he will have an “open door” policy at his high school office to encourage students with problems to talk to him.

Through a school resource officer’s daily presence at the high school, the police heighten their visibility, he said. Officer Costello would work both in uniform and in plainclothes, as the situation requires.

Besides working inside the school, Officer Costello will work outdoors on the school grounds, as needed.

The high school has its own security staff, plus a large complement of surveillance cameras that monitor much of the building.

“First and foremost, you’re a police officer,” Officer Costello said of his role at the high school, noting that more than half of his work there would be directly related to law enforcement.

Officer Costello said that he would aid, as needed, K-9 Officer Andrew Stinson when Officer Stinson is handling Baro, the police department’s German shepherd, at the high school. The Board of Education recently approved a policy concerning using Baro for drug searches at the school. Occasionally, the dog may be used to search for persons missing from the school, Officer Costello said.

Officer Costello said that after the school year starts on Tuesday, August 29, he will be spending his first few months getting to know the students and the people who work at the high school.

After the students get to know him and become comfortable in his presence, they may approach him with particular problems that they have encountered, he said. In such cases, he would seek to help them find solutions, he said.

Officer Costello said, “I’m very outgoing. I like talking. I like starting conversations.” A golfer and an avid New York Yankees fan, the policeman enjoys spectator sports.