The Tippecanoe School Corporation welcomes a deputy from the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office as its new School Resource Officer (SRO). Deputy Lucas Boyle joins officers Beth Frazier, Steven Stonerock, Jason Morgan and Nathan Beever serving nearly 14,000 students at 22 TSC school locations. He replaces SRO Rob Rush, who retired last year.

The school resource officer program is the result of a partnership between the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office and the Tippecanoe School Corporation.

“Our SROs do an amazing job of developing positive relationships between law enforcement and the school community,” says Tippecanoe County Sheriff Bob Goldsmith. “We value our partnership with TSC and hope to further engage young people and protect our schools.”

Deputy Boyle is from Chicago, holds an associate’s degree from Heartland Community College and has 10 years of law enforcement experience. Prior to joining the sheriff’s office in January 2022, he worked several years in Chicago.

“I patrolled some of the most violent neighborhoods in the city,” says Deputy Boyle. “I have learned how important it is to have positive interactions with youth in our community and want to use my experience to be a role model and mentor for the next generation.”

School Resource Officers (SROs) promote a safe learning environment through educating and building relationships with students and staff members. While they serve as law enforcement officers, their primary focus is on helping young people learn about personal responsibility and how to make good decisions. SROs are in the classroom providing positive educational programming, in the hallways, lunchrooms and playgrounds engaging students in conversation and activities, and collaborating with school administrators and staff to evaluate and improve safety procedures that promote student safety.

“Lucas will be a tremendous asset to our team,” says TSC Safety and Security Manager Aaron Gilman. “He is very approachable and will be able to use his experience to connect with students of all ages and backgrounds.”

Deputy Boyle will receive additional safe schools training as he starts in his new role with the TSC.