Editor’s note: On Sept. 27, charges against one of the administrators were dropped.
BRUSH, Colo. (KDVR) — Trust has apparently broken down between Brush Public Schools and the Brush Police Department, and it’s shaking this small, northern Colorado community to its core.
Two administrators at BPS are accused of possessing inappropriate photos shared between students at the high school, now they’re facing child pornography charges.
Now, the district is breaking ties with the police department, temporarily ending the student resource officer program.
“Right now, I would say it’s very strained,” Chief Derek Bos, with BPD, said.
Bos said there have been better days between his department and BPS.
“There’s no reason for a school to keep nude, semi-nude or scantily clad images of juvenile students on record,” Bos said.
Two officials at Brush High School were charged with possessing sexually explicit photos of minors. It was claimed by the school system that these photos were being held for an internal investigation.
“We don’t want those images out there, the kids don’t want their images out there, and that’s the focus of our investigation,” Bos said.
Students were part of bringing this to the attention of law enforcement, according to Bos.
“They kind of started raising questions as to why did the school take the actions that they did, why was law enforcement not present when their phones were searched?” Bos said.
School officials also brought police in on the investigation, Bos said, but not right away.
“Then we also learned of it from the report the school had generated a few weeks after the investigation,” Bos said.
“A lot of crazy things are happening in the world right now, and sending our kids out anywhere is a risk,” one parent, who asked not to be identified, said.
The parent, whose child attends Brush High School, is worried about her child’s safety since BPS announced its intent to sever ties with Brush police to provide campus security.
“I mean it’s very concerning, I mean right now there hasn’t been a whole lot of talk about what’s going to take place,” the parent said. “We don’t know what kind of training they’re having, what kind of drills they’re going to have, what other enforcement they’re bringing in for our kids’ safety.”
Bos said the department remains devoted to protecting schools at BPS.
“We as a police department are definitely training and prepared for incidents at our schools,” Bos said. “We have reached out to the school and offered to do training with them, at this point they have declined.”
Brush Public Schools has not returned FOX31’s request for comment.
Superintendent Bill Wilson posted a video online clarifying the district’s position on campus security.
“Please do not take this as a reduction to our commitment to safety,” Wilson said. “We remain committed to the safety of our students and staff. We will continue to follow our safety procedures and protocols, updating our emergency operating plan, continuing do drills, continuing to access training from experts and officers, we’re simply finding a different avenue which to obtain those services.”