Chamarion snatched the loaded handgun from the hand of another child. The 10-year-old boy understood the danger and knew what he needed to do, thanks to his relationship with school resource officer (SRO) P.J. Mauldin of the Alachua County Sheriff's Office in Gainesville, Florida.
Chamarion and a small group of other elementary school students lived in a neighborhood known for a high crime rate and drug use. They were walking to school that November day in 2018 when one of them spotted the handgun on the ground and picked it up. After Chamarion took the handgun away from the younger child, he told the group to keep walking to school. He stayed back and hid the weapon.
As soon as Chamarion got to school, he told his teacher he needed to speak with Mauldin right away. The teacher called the office and requested Mauldin to come to the classroom. Chamarion told Mauldin about the gun and then led Mauldin to the spot where he’d hidden in. The 9 mm pistol had a bullet in its chamber and a few more in its magazine. A subsequent investigation revealed that the gun’s owner had reported it stolen two years before and someone had used it in a drive-by shooting the night before the children found it. Its discovery later led to the solving of several crimes.
Ironically, Chamarion had been a student with behavioral issues the year before, until Mauldin and Stacey Polvere (the school’s behavior resource teacher) invited Chamarion to join a special club they’d started. They called the club, “GENTS”, an acronym for Gentleman Excelling Naturally Through Service. Through GENTS, Mauldin and Polvere worked with boys who struggled with different aspects of life and school. Issues range from social acceptance to grades. The program also helps students build personal relationships with the SRO and school administrators. Chamarion and Mauldin often went on walks together during which they’d talk about Chamarion’s issues with anger and trust in authority.
Mauldin arranged for Chamarion to receive public recognition for his act. During a special ceremony, the superintendent gave him a certificate of commendation, the sheriff gave him a Sheriff's coin and Crime Stoppers gave him a $1,000.00 reward. Chamarion is in middle school now and Mauldin said the boy is excelling in his academics and at being a leader.
“Chamarion could have easily given the gun to a gang leader in his neighborhood for tons of street credibility,” Mauldin told NASRO. “Instead, despite his previous issues, he took me to it. Later that year, he told me that he probably wouldn’t have been able to do what he did or even finish elementary school without his relationship with me.”
Mauldin has since accepted a promotion and no longer serves as an SRO.
Do you have a similar SRO success story? If so, contact NASRO PIO Jay Farlow, [email protected].