Former school resource officer defends role of police in schools: ‘Mentors not drill sergeants’
Oct 9, 2025, 4:45 PM
The Seattle Public Schools Board decided not to reinstate a campus police officer at Garfield High School after a vote on Wednesday evening. The board meeting discussed the topic for approximately two hours and voted 5-2 in favor of not allowing police officers to return to Garfield’s campus, located in Seattle’s Central District.
Sergeant Mark Satterfield, KIRO host Gee Scott’s former military school resource officer, conveyed the need for resource officers in schools, saying they can act as mentors and build relationships with students.
“[Officers] are there for the kids, and when the kids need to talk to somebody, they can go talk to them,” Satterfield said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “They’re not trying to be drill sergeants; they’re there to mentor the kids, and they add that security factor to it. To me, it’s better to have than not.”
Building relationships, giving them somebody to talk to when they have problems, letting them know there’s no such thing as a bad student, being that positive mentor, that’s the biggest thing that they do,” Satterfield continued.
Watch the full discussion in the video above.
Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.
