Mayflower School District hires new resource officer

Officer Dalton Elliott of the Mayflower Police Department stands near a patrol car after he ends a shift. Elliott was hired as the full-time school resource officer for the Mayflower School District, and he will drive a 2015 Dodge Charger that is getting decals with the Eagle mascot, as well as names of donors. Elliott, 44, has four children in the school district.
Officer Dalton Elliott of the Mayflower Police Department stands near a patrol car after he ends a shift. Elliott was hired as the full-time school resource officer for the Mayflower School District, and he will drive a 2015 Dodge Charger that is getting decals with the Eagle mascot, as well as names of donors. Elliott, 44, has four children in the school district.

MAYFLOWER — Mayflower police officer Dalton Elliott has been in law enforcement for 19 years, and this fall, he’ll be going back to school — elementary, middle and high school.

Elliott, 44, is the new school resource officer for the Mayflower School District. He has been with the Mayflower Police Department for three years.

“I want to make the school safe for my kids and just everybody’s kids,” Elliott said.

Elliott and his wife, Amanda, who have been married 3 1/2 years, have a combined five children. He said four of the children go to Mayflower schools; the youngest is 2.

“I’ve been going up there anytime they need it, unofficially,” Elliott said. “I’m really familiar with all three campuses.”

Mayflower Superintendent John Gray said a school resource officer is needed.

“We do have issues on a regular basis,” Gray said in an earlier interview.

“Overall, we do pretty well, but we still have to deal with those issues,” he said.

“It’s all about school safety and keeping our kids safe — that’s the No. 1 thing we do;

No. 2 is education,” Gray said Monday. “So many things are going on in our country these days; it doesn’t hurt to have someone like that around.”

Elliott, a Paron High School graduate and a former deputy with the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office, said he moved to Mayflower 23 years ago.

Mayflower Mayor Randy Holland said Elliott was one of three applicants for the job.

“We went through a process to get him; we advertised for 10 days. We had a committee — that was the recommendation from the committee. We’re all excited about it,” Holland said.

Mayflower Police Chief Robert Alcon said Elliott is a good choice.

“He’s a longtime member of Mayflower, and he knows the kids real well — works with them good — he’s got kids in the school system,” he said. “He knows all the administrators well; I think he’ll be a good fit.”

The school district and the city will split Elliott’s salary. He will be paid $14.85 an hour, which is $30,088 at 40 hours a week. However, with benefits, such as insurance, the total will be $46,699.

“I think that’s a good little package for what they’re getting,” Alcon said. He said the city will hire an additional officer once the school district starts paying its half of Elliott’s salary. “We’re just looking forward to having an officer on campus each day — attending the football games, being a liaison between the school and the Police Department,” he said.

Safety is the No. 1 thing for me,” Holland said. “I guess it’s the old Barney Fife thing of nip it in the bud. Getting an SRO — it’s not going to fix all the problems, but it’s actually going to solve a lot of our problems.”

He said Elliott’s relationship with the students will enable him to stop some problems before they escalate.

Elliott said he will focus on cyberbullying, for one, and patrol the campuses “and make sure there are no drugs and stuff. I’m a certified law-enforcement officer; I’m going to teach classes on bullying,” he said.

He also said there is a problem with teenagers sending nude photos of themselves. Although teenagers think the photo is just on the phone, it can be be disseminated on social-media sites.

“That’s a big concern,” he said.

Elliott said he will learn more about how to handle that and other situations when he attends a week-long school-resource-officer training beginning Aug. 1 in Siloam Springs.

He said he will make presentations on alcohol-related issues during homecoming and prom season. He said he plans to borrow from a different department some “drunk goggles,” which simulate intoxication, to use for a demonstration.

Gray said the school district previously had a part-time officer through the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office, but that deputy was assigned other duties, Gray said.

The city purchased a car for the school resource officer, a 2015 Dodge Charger. It is getting a “wrap” with the new Mayflower Eagle logo on it, as well as names of donors who contributed to the vehicle.

“It’s going to look really good,” Holland said.

Alcon said he hopes to have the vehicle by Aug. 10; classes will start Aug. 15.

Gray said Elliott’s first official engagement will be Aug. 8 at the elementary-school open house.

Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.

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