A pair of school resource officers at Alexandria City High School has been placed on leave following a complaint of misconduct, according to the police.
Alexandria police said that “APD takes complaints regarding misconduct seriously and is working diligently to investigate this situation,” and that “the officers have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson told WTOP the city will be investigating the incident.
“Obviously, we take any accusation very seriously and have an extensive process to investigate such a complaint,” Wilson said. “That investigation is ongoing and based on the result appropriate next steps will be determined.”
The school resource officer program has been a hot-button issue in Alexandria in the last few years, with the City Council voting to do away with the program entirely in July 2021, citing the higher instances of children of color being targeted. It was decided that the funding originally earmarked for the program would be spent on mental health resources for students.
However, a rise in violent incidents at Alexandria City High School prompted many in the community to ask for the officers to be reinstated, which the City Council granted.
Some on the council disapproved of their return, saying the rise in violence was only coincidental to school resource officers leaving the city’s lone high school.
Wilson said the suspension of the officers has no bearing on the discussion of the role of school resource officers play in Alexandria City High School, saying “that policy debate had nothing to do with the individuals in those roles. It was focused on the service and support they provide to the community.”
WTOP’s Acacia James contributed to this report.
