The Columbia Police Department and Columbia School District are investigating an incident at Jefferson Middle School this week that left a school resource officer seeking medical treatment.
According to an emailed statement from Columbia School District Superintendent Jason Harris, an incident occurred Tuesday afternoon around 2:30 between a student and a school resource officer.
The statement continued to say, “The school continued its normal daily operations, and no student or faculty member was in any danger from this incident. Columbia School District is investigating the matter. The safety of our students and staff is a top priority for Columbia School District.”
When asked whether the student resource officer was injured in the incident, Harris said “as a matter of protocol the Chief of Police informed me they called an ambulance. No one was in any danger.”
Multiple sources have confirmed Lanny Arinder is the school resource officer in question.
Police Chief Michael Kelly said, “An incident did occur requiring a police response. The incident is under investigation between the Columbia Police Department and the Columbia School District. Due to the nature of the investigation and one subject is a juvenile, there is no further comment.”
The C-P filed a public records request Thursday with both the school district and police department for an incident report. State law gives public bodies seven business days to provide either the record requested or an explanation in writing of why they are denying the request.
