BOTETOURT RESOURCE OFFICER LOSES JOB OVER INCIDENT

At the end of a class May 17, a boy tried to hug the officer, but she
took him to the ground, the school's principal said.

A Botetourt County resource officer who responded to a fifth-grader's
affection in a defensive manner has lost her job.

Botetourt County Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle said he terminated Deputy
C.J. Dickerson on Monday for inappropriately bullying a student by
"taking him to the ground" at Colonial Elementary School.

Dickerson had been a resource officer at the school since last fall
and had been teaching Drug Abuse Resistance Education classes to
fifth-graders since January, Principal Tammie Riggs said.

At the end of a DARE class May 17, a boy tried to hug the officer, but
"in sort of like a defense move, she twisted his arm and put him to
the floor," Riggs said.

The boy was not hurt and didn't require medical attention, the
principal said. "He was more humiliated and scared," Riggs said.

"Her conduct was unbecoming to an officer of this department,"
Sprinkle said.

After investigating the incident, "I certainly have reason to believe
something happened and we've taken care of the problem," Sprinkle said.

No criminal charges have been filed, Sprinkle said, but the action
constitutes a misdemeanor, and charges would have to be made by the
individuals involved.

"In the interest of fairness and to preclude any appearance of
partiality," Sprinkle said he's asked the Virginia State Police to
investigate any criminal charges that might arise.

Neither Riggs nor Sprinkle knew what sparked the incident. They would
not identify the student or his teacher.

Dickerson could not be reached for comment. Her home telephone number
was not in service Tuesday. Dickerson, who has been a deputy since
1996, was the resource officer who was alerted May 19 when five
students at Read Mountain Middle School were treated for illegally
taking a prescribed anti-seizure medication.

Riggs said she'd received complaints about the deputy and was planning
to ask for a new DARE officer for the next school year. In a survey of
the DARE program, teachers noted "inappropriate behavior and
conversations" between the officer and students, Riggs said.

The complaints weren't glaring, but "at the end of the year, I would
have asked that she not be our DARE officer, anyway," Riggs said.

The conversations were not obscene, but "were inappropriate in class,"
Riggs said. Some information on substance abuse, Riggs said, "was too
much information for elementary students. She was too comfortable
talking about drug and alcohol use ... about things elementary
students didn't need to know."

Riggs said she learned of the incident involving the fifth-grader
after school May 18 and conducted her own investigation before
notifying the sheriff's office Thursday. A new officer has been
assigned to the school, she said, adding that the department was very
responsive in organizing the DARE graduation that was held Tuesday
night.

Sprinkle said the Colonial Elementary incident was the first complaint
he'd received against Dickerson since she became a resource officer.

Sprinkle said he's received several other calls about the officer's
behavior since the Colonial school incident was reported. He declined
to comment on the types of complaints, saying they were being
investigated.