On Friday, Jan. 24, 2014 Officer Widdis became an official member of Lafayette High School as the new School Resource officer.  Widdis took the place of Officer Oliver Helbig who had been at the school for 8 years before switching places with Officer Widdis.

The change in jobs was proposed by the Police Department with cooperation from Rockwood School District. After working at a certain job for a while,  officers get moved around to keep them “fresh” as Officer Widdis stated back in 2014.

Officer Widdis was happy to be reconnected to the school, having been a member of the Lafayette Class of 1984. His return also gave Widdis a chance to reconnect with former students who have come to Lafayette since his time as School Resource Officer at Rockwood Valley Middle School.

Now, Officer Widdis has the opportunity to go into classrooms and talk about safety and constitutional laws. As well, Widdis plans the Homecoming Parade each year and orchestrates drug dog visits to the school.

As a School Resource Officer, Widdis has said that one of the hardest parts of the job is dealing with underage drinking and drunk driving. Widdis has personal experience with drunk driving, as his fiancé and unborn child were killed in an accident that had to do with underage drunk drivers.

This will be Officer Widdis’ third year as Lafayette’s School Resource Officer.