May 8, 2025 — HOOVER, Ala. — The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) announced that it will present its 2025 Floyd Ledbetter National School Resource Officer of the Year Award to Detective Leticia Johnson of the Logan City (Utah) Police Department. The award recognizes school resource officers (SROs) who have made specific and significant contributions to their local communities or school districts. SROs are carefully selected, specifically trained law enforcement officers assigned to work in schools.
NASRO will present this award and others on Monday, July 7, during a ceremony as part of its annual National School Safety Conference in Grapevine Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.
“Detective Johnson’s commitment to the well-being and personal growth of students goes far beyond her assigned duties,” said NASRO executive director Mo Canady. “She launched a Lunch with a Cop program, which identifies and rewards students who exhibit kindness, integrity and responsibility — students who might otherwise go unnoticed. Detective Johnson personally picks up these students and takes them out to lunch, turning a simple meal into a powerful moment of recognition and encouragement. Several letters of nomination mentioned Detective Johnson’s exemplary teaching of a 13-week “Nurturing, Opportunities, Values, Accountability” course to the fifth-grade students at the six elementary schools she serves. She uses this platform to build meaningful relationships with every student with whom she interacts, taking time to engage with them individually and offering a level of mentorship that leaves a lasting impact. Detective Johnson clearly embodies the spirit of service, compassion and dedication that our SRO of the Year award seeks to honor.”
NASRO also announced that it will present its National Award of Valor for acts of courage and valor above and beyond what would normally be expected, to four people:
- Chad Boyd and Dep. Brandon King, SROs with the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office in Winder, Georgia. Boyd and King were on duty at Apalachee High School on September 4, 2024, when shots rang out. The pair ran toward the sound and apprehended a 14-year-old shooting suspect shortly after four people had been shot to death and seven others had been injured. The suspect complied with the officers’ verbal instructions, ending the incident by dropping his gun to the floor.
- Katie Tiktin, a teacher at Pilot Butte Middle School, Bend, Oregon. On October 21, 2024, a 12-year-old child brought a loaded handgun to the school and was on his way to commit a school shooting when he sought out Tiktin, who had developed a rapport with the student over the previous year. After the student showed Tiktin the gun, she escorted him out of the building and away from possible targets, putting herself between the student and other children. She instructed the student to put his hands on a fence while she called the school’s SRO. The SRO disarmed and apprehended the student without incident.
- Officer Joel Saccoccio, an SRO with the Barrington (Rhode Island) Police Department. On May 10, 2024, Saccoccio intentionally put himself in danger to minimize the risk of harm to patrol officers who responded to a call about an agitated student armed with a large kitchen knife. The high school student was on school grounds, threatening officers with the knife when he asked to speak to Saccoccio, who had been teaching a class inside the building. When the SRO arrived, he drew the student’s attention away from the patrol officers and used his positive relationship with the boy to convince him to drop the knife and safely end his attempt at suicide by police officer.
Presidential Citations for special recognition from the NASRO president will go to the following people:
- Master Deputy Kyle Barget of the Carroll County (Maryland) Sheriff’s Office, an SRO who saved a choking high school student’s life in February 2025 by administering appropriate abdominal thrusts.
- Will Chapman of the Newtown (Connecticut) Police Department, in recognition of his unwavering commitment to school safety, his outstanding leadership both within his department and on a national level, and his significant contributions to NASRO.
- Officer Antoinette Oglesby Layton, of the Clayton County (Georgia) School Police Department, who on October 17, 2024, helped save the life of an elementary school teacher by promptly administering CPR.
The Chief Nicholas C. Derzis Safe Schools Leadership Award for contributions and dedication to an SRO program will go to Dr. Barrett Pollard, Superintendent, Gatesville Independent School District, Gatesville, Texas.
Exceptional Service Awards for one recipient in each of NASRO’s 10 regions who demonstrates continuous and sustained service to the school community above and beyond that normally expected of an SRO will go to:
- Officer David Thompson, Bluffton Police Department, Bluffton, South Carolina.
- Officer Warren Edmondson, Tipp City Police Department, Tipp City, Ohio.
- Michael Hamm, North Fayette Township Police Department, Oakdale, Pennsylvania.
- Stephen Ramunno, Everett Police Department, Everett, Massachusetts.
- Chief Ryleigh Carr, Culver Community Schools Police Department, Culver, Indiana.
- Patrick Bloom, Shelby County Sheriff's Office, Columbiana, Alabama.
- Officer Ryan Matheson, Gilbert Police Department, Gilbert, Arizona.
- Officer Julie Brown, Kent County Sheriff’s Office, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Officer Jabral Johnson, West Linn Police Department, West Linn, Oregon.
- Officer Scott Gillespie, Castle Rock Police Department, Castle Rock, Colorado.
The Model SRO Agency Award for exemplifying – in training, policies and standards – the NASRO triad concept (which describes an SRO’s role as an informal counselor, public safety educator and law enforcement officer) and for demonstrating creative and innovative approaches to school-based policing, will go to:
- Meridian Police Department, Meridian, Idaho.
- Billings Police Department, Billings, Montana.
- Bloomington Police Department, Bloomington, Illinois and Normal Police Department, Normal, Illinois (joint SRO unit serving McLean County Unit School District No. 5).
- Mountain Brook Police Department, Mountain Brook, Alabama.
- Scituate Police Department, Scituate, Rhode Island.
- Columbus Police Department and Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, Columbus, Indiana (joint SRO unit serving the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation).
- Murfreesboro Police Department, Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The International Exemplary Agency Award, for a non-US agency that demonstrates the same attributes as recipients of the model agency award above, will go to the Edmonton Police Service, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The SRO Social Award, for effectively utilizing social media to promote the SRO position, school, and agency, will go to Det. Jason Ezell, an SRO with the Lakewood (Colorado) Police Department.
The Safety and Support Companion Award, for an SRO and the officer’s animal companion who, through their roles as public safety educator, mentor/informal counselor, and law enforcement officer, make a significant positive and impactful contribution to schools will go to Officer Allison Adle of the San Mateo (California) Police Department and her goldendoodle dog, Rookie.
The National Road Safety Foundation Innovation in the Classroom Award, for demonstrating the use of innovative methods in teaching traffic safety to teens will go to Officer Jason Peruzzi of the Canajoharie Police Department, Canajoharie, New York.
About the NASRO National School Safety Conference
NASRO’s 35th annual National School Safety Conference takes place July 6 through July 11 at the Gaylord Texan Convention Center, Grapevine, Texas. The conference provides opportunities for attendees to learn best practices for SRO and other school safety programs. It also provides networking opportunities to SROs and other law enforcement officers, as well as school security and safety officials, school board members, administrators and anyone interested in school safety. Complimentary credentials are available to working journalists who wish to cover the conference. Please contact Jay Farlow, using the information below, to reserve press credentials.
About NASRO
NASRO is a nonprofit organization for school-based law enforcement officers, school administrators, and school security and safety professionals working as partners to protect students, school faculty and staff, and the schools they serve. NASRO is headquartered in Hoover, Alabama, and was established in 1991. For more information, visit www.nasro.org.
Media Contact:
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