Fair Grove Schools has hired an official School Resource Officer, Officer Dustin Hayman. Until that position had been filled, the school had Road Patrol officers who filled that position.
On September 25, the Fair Grove R-X School District Facebook page posted, “Officer Dustin Hayman, a former deputy at the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, brings a wealth of law enforcement experience, dedication to community safety, and a passion for working with students and young adults.”
According to the Fair Grove R-X School District Hayman previously served as a Deputy for the Greene County Sheriff’s Office since June 2024, he was a Probation and Parole officer for the State of Missouri, and had also served as a Peace Officer in Syracuse, New York.
Officer Hayman stated in the school district’s Facebook post that he thinks being an effective communicator is a vital part of law enforcement, and that he is looking forward to building strong relationships with everyone.
Officer Atwood, one of the Road Patrol officers, mentioned that after the previous SRO (School Resource Officer), Officer Castleberry, left for a job in Greene County, the Road Patrol officers had been assigned the SRO position at Fair Grove Schools.
Chief Howell, the Chief of Police of Fair Grove, Missouri, stated that the Fair Grove Officers who had been filling in as our SRO’s were, “… Officer Atwood who has about three and a half years of experience, Sergeant Deckard who has about six years of experience, myself who has forty-four plus years of experience, Officer Walters with two years of experience, and Officer Long who’s been here (to Fair Grove as a stand in SRO) once or twice with a year and a half of experience.”
Howell and the other four officers all spent their time between their position as the Fair Grove Police Officers and filled in for the schools SRO position. Atwood said that he and the other officers all rotated so that both the town and school would be under the protection of the police department at all times.
Typically throughout a school day the officers would go throughout the school buildings and check to make sure doors are locked, patrol the hallways, monitor the parking lots. This is all to ensure that there is no unusual activity and keep students and faculty safe.
Atwood stated a typical day for the officers when working for the overall town consists of checking the “hot sheet” (a list showing stolen vehicles) and responding to calls.
For the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year Officer Hayman will be the SRO for Fair Grove Schools and the officers who have been filing in will return to their regular duties.
