City of Johnston recently issued the following announcement.
On Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, Detective Slack received a Meritorious Service Award for leadership as a School Resource Officer (SRO) for five years with the Johnston Community School District. During his time as the SRO, he performed his duties with distinction. The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) describes the role of an SRO as having three main concepts; that of a counselor/mentor, educator, and law enforcement officer.
As the SRO, between 2016 to 2021, Detective Slack impacted many lives within the elementary, middle and high school. He spent countless hours with the schools’ crisis teams ensuring they were prepared and educated, was an integral part in ensuring the staff at each school in the district took part in ALICE training, and continued that education through refreshers during his tenure.
Detective Slack made connections with students and served as a prime example of an SRO's impact in students' lives. He has received letters that were passed along to him from the College Dean of Student of former Johnston High School students, explaining the student named him as someone who has impacted their life. As a volunteer, Detective Slack was a part of the Johnston High School’s fishing team and traveled to Kosovo as a chaperone to further student experiences. He has certainly set a high expectation for the SRO program and helped grow it to what it is today.
As an educator, Detective Slack made each presentation personal and spent numerous hours preparing instruction for topics he was asked to speak on. He has always approached this with passion and professionalism and, in turn, fostered an excellent working environment between the Johnston Community School District and the Johnston Police Department.
Detective Slack’s performance is a credit to the department. His actions as a Johnston Police member emphasize the importance of proactive policing efforts and upholding the uppermost traditions of law enforcement.
Original source can be found here.