SRO & Student/Family Connection

The purpose of this page is to provide opportunities for our school resource officers (SROs) and the students/families we serve to connect and build community.  WE ARE BETTER TOGETHER!

Get To Know Your SRO

STUDENTS SUBMITTED QUESTIONS FOR THEIR SRO TO GET TO KNOW HIM OR HER. WE HAD SUCH GREAT QUESTIONS! SEE THEIR RESPONSES HERE!

DAVE WILLIAMS

 ELK RIVER SCHOOLS


Congratulations to 11th grader Grace Talbot from Elk River High School for submitting the winning questions! We hope you enjoy your prizes! Officer Williams's responses to Grace's questions are below, along with a few other responses to student questions.  Thank you to everyone who submitted a question. 


Q. What wanted you to get into your career field? 

A. I was a police explorer in high school which helped me to learn more about what police officers do on a daily basis and confirmed that I in fact wanted to go to college for law enforcement. I also wanted variety in my day-to-day work activities.

Q. What’s your favorite part of your job? 

A. My favorite part is the variety of tasks that I do and investigating cases.

Q. What does an average week look like for you? 

An average week for me is working Monday – Friday 7am – 3 pm. During the week I am in the school about 90% of the time. While at the school I am working on follow up from cases that I have been assigned along with investigating any new cases that I get whether they are related to something at the school or an incident that has occurred outside the school. I also frequently work with Health and Human Services Child Protection as we conduct parallel investigations.

Q. Do you feel you’re making a difference in your job? 

A. Overall, yes, I would have to say that I feel like I make a difference. My job is not about only giving tickets and finding the bad in people, but also to build positive relationships and work on building community relations.

Q. What inspires you to do what you do? 

A. I am inspired to be a police officer and SRO to help protect everyone’s constitutional rights on a daily basis.

Here are other student questions and responses from Dave:

Q. How old do you have to be to be an SRO? 

In Minnesota there is not a minimum age, however most applicants are somewhere between 20-24 when they finish college and are hired by an agency. It is not uncommon to have people become a police officer later in life after they have worked several years in a different career field.

Q. What is the difference between CSO & SRO? 

A. CSO is an abbreviation for Community Service Officer which is not a licensed peace (police) officer whereas an SRO is an abbreviation for School Resource Officer who is a licensed peace (police) officer. CSO’s will commonly assist with animal & parking complaints among other tasks that do not require a licensed officer to deal with. An SRO is a fully licensed officer who is specifically assigned to work in the schools and is able to make arrests like patrol officers. 

Q. Why did you want to be an SRO? 

A. I have coached youth sports for several years and thought it would be rewarding to be in the schools and have an impact on today’s youth while also building positive relationships in the community.


ADAM DUPIC 

 ROGERS SCHOOLS


Congratulations goes to our winners, 7th grader Gianna Ingraffia and 8th grader Paige Lidberg! Below is a message from Officer Adam Dupic with answers to their questions along with some other answers to students' questions.

Thank-you for the overwhelming amount of questions submitted to me! It has been an absolute pleasure to get to know you all over the past school year, and prior years, and I am excited for you all to learn a little more about me!

My name is Adam Dupic, and I am 36 years old. I am married to my wife, Lindsay, and together we have 4 kids; Two middle school girls, a girl in elementary school, and a newborn baby boy. We also have two golden-doodle dogs; Jack and Luna. I have been a police officer for 14 years, and have worked for Rogers PD the past 4 years. I have been a School Resource Officer (SRO) for the past three school years. If you are in 8th grade now, you were in 5th grade when I started as an SRO.

I became an SRO because I enjoy working with students and helping them through their school years. I like to help students through education and being a positive role model. I value my time giving classroom presentations about safety, helping kids safely cross at the crosswalks, interacting with students and staff in the hallways, and bringing a sense of safety to the schools. One of my favorite events I get to organize is the Shop with a Cop program we do every holiday season.

When I am not working, I love to spend time with my kids. They keep me busy with soccer, volleyball, and cheer events. I also enjoy fishing; either ice fishing or from the boat. My favorite sport to watch is football, and I have been a Kansas City Chiefs fan since I was in 2nd grade.

All of the submitted questions were great, and I picked a couple that I really liked.

Gianna Ingraffia from Rogers Middle School asked how long I have been working as an officer, and how long it took to become an officer. Also, if I could work any other job what would it be?

I started my career in law enforcement in 2005 while I was in college at South Dakota State University. I first became a Reserve Officer with the SDSU Police Department, and also worked as a dispatcher. In 2008 I graduated college with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Criminal Justice. In 2008 I was hired as a police officer with the Canton (South Dakota) Police Department. I was lucky to be hired right out of college, and it did not take me long to get the job. Some people wait a long time to get hired as an officer. If I was not working as a police officer, I think I would be in a job that keeps me active and working with my hands.

Paige Lidberg from Rogers Middle School simply asked me why I do what I do.

It is a great question with not a simple answer. There are many reasons why I have done this job for 14 years, and continue to love doing it. One of my goals as an SRO is to always have positive, meaningful, interactions with students – whether they are having the best day ever, or are really struggling. I want students to understand they can trust me as an SRO and police officer. SROs and officers will always be there to help you in your times of need. That is why I do what I do; to build positive relationships between our Rogers students and our Rogers Officers.

Thank you for all of the questions, and taking time out of your busy day to read my answers and learn a little bit more about me!


AMY BERGLUND

ROGERS SCHOOLS

Titus Fredman submitted the winning questions in December. Here were his questions and Officer Berglund's answers along with some other student questions and answers.

Q. Why did you choose to be a police officer?

A. I wanted to be a police officer right after high school.  However; I ended up having my son which made me have to find a job quick. Something that didn’t require me to go to college.  I worked for a Restoration company for 15 years.  During that time, I met one of my neighbors who became a great friend.  He was/still is a Minneapolis cop.  I told him I wanted to be a cop when I was younger and he said why don’t you do it now.  I hesitated about having to make a big change in my life.  I was now a mom of two kids and had a lot of responsibility. My friend (Mpls cop) said come do a ride along with me. I did and well I signed up for college the next day!!  I was 31 years old and scared to death to start over. I went to school full time, worked full time and still managed everything else in my life.  It was the best decision I ever made.   

Q. Do you like your job?

A. I absolutely love my job.  There is a lot of negative that comes along with it, but I choose to be positive in my everyday thinking.  I love working in the schools with the kids.  I meet so many neat kids that come from every walk of life.  It is something new every day!

Q. What are the most common problems for your job today?

A. I think the most common problems today with being a cop is the negativity.  There are a lot of people that hate the cops and choose to be defiant anyway possible.  We are normal people just like everyone else.  We just choose to do the job.  I will say working in Rogers, we have a HUGE support from our community which makes it all worthwhile.   I had a guy screaming at me the other day in the parking lot at one of the businesses, but then I walked inside the store and had a lady offer to buy me lunch for what I do.  It is how you choose to look at things 😊

Q. What do you worry about the most?

A. I worry a lot about mental health and the way it drives some people and their choices.

Here are a few other questions/answers:

Q. How long have you been in law enforcement?

A. I have been in law enforcement for almost 10 years.

Q. Where did you grow up?

A. I grew up in Crystal with my mom, dad and 5 sisters.

Q. Who is your hero?

A. My dad is definitely my hero.

Q. What made you come into RHS?

A. I came into the schools in 2016.  To work in the schools you have to apply and then be interviewed by a lot of people.  I started my time in RMS and then came to RHS when the other SRO was promoted to Sergeant.  It is a 5 year rotating position, and this is my 5th year, so you may see a new face walking the halls of RHS next year.

JOE FIRKUS

ELK RIVER SCHOOLS

Abbi Bowne submitted the winning questions in November. Here were her questions and Joe's answers along with some other student questions and answers.

Q. Why did you want to be an SRO?

 I chose to be an SRO because I enjoy working with kids and it gives me a direct opportunity to establish relationships with them in a safe learning environment. I love to mentor people of all ages, but especially kids. I think it is important for kids to know they can always look up to police officers as a role model.

Q. Did you go to college?

I went to Moorhead State University and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing. I later attended Alexandria Technical College for Law Enforcement.

Q. What are your hobbies and how did you get into them?

I enjoy hunting and fishing, learning about them from my father and now am passing those hobbies to my children. Also as a bit of a handyman, I take on many projects at home and at the homes of my friends. I also learned this from my father. But my true love is hanging out with my wife and children.

Q. What inspires you in your career?

I believe there is a lot of good in the world and as a police officer, now an SRO, I am in a position to make sure the good shines through in people.

Q. What are your career highlights?

This is a difficult one to narrow down to one particular event. I am most proud of the way I try to interact with people no matter the subject. I do not feel I am doing my job unless I get thanked at the end of our interaction, even if that interaction results in a citation or someone going to jail.

Q. Who is in your family?

I have two children, 18 and 16. I have been married to my wife for 21 years. We have a 5 month old German Shepard puppy, Mollie.

Q. Do you get to pet the police K-9?

I do get to pet the K9 dog, Duke, we have at the department.

Q. What are your favorite things?

My favorite color is blue, my favorite food is a steak dinner, I love candy, and I love being a police officer, especially an SRO.





SCOTT ANDERSON 

ZIMMERMAN SCHOOLS

Olivia submitted the winning questions in October. Here were her questions and Scott's answers along with some other student questions and answers.

Q. What is your favorite tv show/movie?

Q. Do you have any pets?

I have a chocolate lab named Luna.

Q. What are the most important qualities you think are important in a person?

Your words.

Q. What is the most unusual thing you have eaten?

Deer heart.

Q. How long have you been an officer?

22 years.

Q. What is your favorite thing to do?

I enjoy hunting and fishing for bass, deer and turkeys.

Q. What is your favorite food?

Sushi. 

Q. Favorite song or band?

Q. Did you attend college?

I attended St. Mary’s University.

Q. How do you like being a school cop?

I enjoy making connections and building relationships with the students and staff in Zimmerman.   I have enjoyed many opportunities in my law enforcement career but working in the schools has been my favorite.