Lincoln High School Resource Officer promoted to new position

Lincoln High School Resource Officer promoted to new position
Friday, June 1 is the last day for Lincoln High School Resource Kevin Braman. Braman was recently promoted to City of Walla Walla police sergeant following the retirement of Sergeant Dennis McKee. Braman's replacement at Lincoln High School has yet to be named.

"It has been my pleasure for the last three years to serve the Walla Walla School District as the WWPD School Resource Officer," Braman said. "Although I look forward to the next challenge in my career as a police sergeant, I am going to miss the students and staff tremendously."

Braman took time to reflect on his experience at Lincoln High School:
"As a police officer in the city for eight years prior to being submersed in the school full-time, I was solving problems and dealing with the worst situations in our society. I seldom had time to sit down with a young person and talk about their problems and why they were experiencing each situation. As an SRO, I was able to connect with so many kids and take the time to really make a difference. Not only would this mean enforcing the law, but it also equated to explaining why rules are in place and examining how the situation could be avoided or dealt with differently in the future. I feel this is the key to changing behavior and look forward to teaching this experience to other new police officers as they begin their careers.

I have also learned to have more compassion for others, as I have seen kids who have overcome some huge challenges. It has proven to me that children are resilient and will flourish with the right positive environment around them. I have seen a remarkable difference at Lincoln in the past three years.

On my first day as SRO at Lincoln in the Fall of 2009, I witnessed and broke up a fight in the lunch room. I responded to 48 different police reportable incidents at Lincoln alone in my first year. There was very high gang tension in the building and the staff were overwhelmed trying to avoid the next incident.

The following year Lincoln began its transformation with the study of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Complex Trauma and implementation of a different approach. From the 2009-10 School year to the 2010-11 school year, my police reports at Lincoln dropped from 48 to 17! I have yet to acquire the 11-12 year end statistics, however I am certain that the trend will continue. We still have arrests and police reports at Lincoln and the SROs role in the process is important for success. I feel that the recidivism rate has dropped tremendously due to our approach and response. The Lincoln Health Center has also been instrumental in this transformation by providing both medical and mental health services to the kids.

I have been extremely fortunate to have been able to experience the staff and students at all schools and look forward to continuing my relationship with everyone. I will be assigned as a Patrol Sergeant and will be out and about in the community on a daily basis."

Kevin Braman #280
WALLA WALLA POLICE SGT.