Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. officials have determined there was no threat at Southside Elementary School Tuesday after school when a woman reported seeing who she thought was some sort of reserve officer in plainclothes wearing a badge and a gun on school property.
Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers said the individual was not a sheriff’s department reserve deputy but was a former county law enforcement officer who now works for the Indiana Department of Correction and wears a gun and a badge as part of his work. The Department of Corrections employee was picking up grandchildren from the school, Myers said.
Myers said law enforcement officers, including those working for the Indiana Department of Correction, are allowed to carry guns on school property.
Many law enforcement officers will wear a badge and gun even when in plainclothes where ever they go, Myers said, and he encourages his deputies to do so.
If officers are on duty and in uniform, school officials commonly do not make them go through the security process when visiting a school, Myers said.
However, when in plainclothes, Myers said officers, including himself, have been asked to provide identification and go through the security process because they are not in uniform and the officers comply, he said.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
