Woonsocket native Eric Warkenthien is back in school this fall, serving as one of the Brookings School District’s two School Resource Officers.
Warkenthien joined the Brookings Police Department in January of 2016 and has been working as a patrol officer. He says he always knew he wanted to become more involved working with juveniles, and so after hearing about the opening with the school district, decided to go for the job.
The 2011 Woonsocket High School graduate is responsible for Mickelson Middle School, where he is based out of, Camelot Intermediate and Dakota Prairie Elementary.
As a resource officer, he will handle a variety of tasks, including any crime that occurs at school, such as theft, harassment, disruptive students, drug activity or physical and sexual assault. Warkenthien will also give presentations throughout the year on subjects such as social media safety, Halloween safety and the D.A.R.E. program.
He says his main focus right now is to try to become a figure the students feel they can come to with their concerns or just to talk.
Warkenthien is a 2015 graduate of Dakota Wesleyan University with degrees in corporate homeland security and criminal justice. He also worked as a correctional officer in the Davison County Jail for two years during college.
He lives in Brookings with his wife, Shelby, and their four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter.