Jul 24, 2018 5 min read

ROGERSVILLE – Jared Edgreen is bringing his experience protecting the President of the United States, his family, other international dignitaries and celebrities to the classrooms of West Greene School District as its new resource officer.

“Name them,” he said of the diplomats he protected in his time with the U.S. Secret Service. “I’ve protected everyone from Muammar Gaddafi, Iran’s leader Ahmadinejad multiple times, Isreal’s Netanyahu … I can’t even name them all, Chinese diplomats, prime ministers from all over the world.”

Edgreen is the first to serve in the role, new this year thanks to a grant from Consol Energy.

The Waynesburg Central and Waynesburg University graduate spent nine years with the Secret Service before recently returning to Pennsylvania.

Edgreen said both a college professor who previously served in the Secret Service and a talk from former Secret Service agent and now assistant district attorney Patrick Fitch at his high school solidified his interest in that career path.

During his time in D.C., Edgreen served on multiple special teams, including special operations, which secures specific areas of the White House during events. Edgreen also worked on a board to increase physical security of the White House, an ongoing effort to update procedures.

He also worked on the motorcade support unit, which coordinates motorcades for the president and vice president, and finally as a federal law enforcement instructor.

“That really got me interested in the education aspect. I never thought I would enjoy being an educator,” he said,” but I really found a passion for it.”

Part of Edgreen’s instruction covered active shooter situations, both for law enforcement and civilians.

“When you look at active shooter situations, they’re over in less than 15 minutes, and that’s usually before police can respond,” he said. “I felt that with my training and experience, there’s a lot of things that everyone needs to know that we’re just not aware of.”

So Edgreen wanted to bring those skills to the general public. He also wanted to be at home more because the Secret Service had him traveling constantly, away from his family. He started a private consulting firm last fall when he moved back to the area.

He began putting together seminars to teach people some of these proactive strategies in any emergency situation.

“I want to be the one that urges people to start thinking that way, because if we can start to mentally prepare ourselves … that is going to shave off those precious seconds when shots ring out.”

Being situationally aware, observing behaviors and knowing your exits are some of Edgreen’s biggest tips for things to start to think about.

“It is the perception and comprehension of people, places and environments around you,” he said of situational awareness.

West Greene contacted Edgreen through his consulting business for a site risk assessment to make the school a “harder target.”

Edgreen’s role isn’t just safety and security, though. In addition to responding to any potential incident and acting as a deterrent to crime, he will also work on revising the district’s safety policies, educating teachers and staff, and conducting programming, such as alcohol and drug education. He will also assist with certain discipline issues.

Edgreen started July 1, and though he and West Greene academic director Jed Hamberger didn’t want to get into specifics about their goals for increased security due to safety, they did outline some general plans.

Some of it involves new staff procedures, like not propping doors open and making sure certain doors are locked. The new position has also opened up some money for equipment, including a new visitor pass system that does background checks. Edgreen also wants to establish better lines of communication. Hamberger said they want to coordinate with local fire departments, state police and other local law enforcement to handle emergency situations more efficiently, from fire evacuations and severe weather to an active shooter. There are some planned building upgrades as well.

Edgreen and Hamberger said they want parents to talk with their children about what a resource officer’s role is and that a law enforcement presence in the school is a good thing. Edgreen said it’s not his job to crack down or put more rules in place, but to protect and secure the students, staff and visitors of West Greene.

“My background in protection of not just locations but persons, notably the president and his family, that is what I want to bring here,” he said. “I am here for the safety and security of the persons of this building.”

Edgreen also said he wants to be approachable and wants students to feel that they can come to him with any issues they may not feel comfortable addressing with another staff member. He knows that will take time, and blending his background in law enforcement with education has also been interesting.

“I think I fit here. I think I can help educate,” Edgreen said.

Hamberger said their goal has been to hire a resource officer for about three years, but the effort gained momentum after the shooting in Parkland, Fla., in February that left 17 dead.

Finances were always the main hurdle, so with a $180,000 grant from Consol Energy, the district was able to make that hire now.

Consol will pay $60,000 per year for the position over three years, and the district will pick up the additional costs. The position’s salary is set at $50,000 but additional expenses raise the cost of the position about $20,000.