Officer Ryan Leonard with the Peculiar Police Department begins work on Jan. 18. He will be based at the Ray-Pec Academy building, but will be available to support the high school campus, Ray-Pec South Middle School, Shull Early Learning Center, Peculiar Elementary School, and all district facilities in Peculiar.
Officer Leonard is a 2004 graduate of Lee’s Summit High School. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Army, and then moved back to Missouri. He was a diesel mechanic before becoming a police officer.
Officer Leonard began working at the Peculiar Police Department in April 2019 as a patrol officer. “I’m excited to be an SRO, and I hope to make a positive impact on everyone I interact with,” he said.
The School District has three other School Resource Officers.
• Peculiar Police Officer Blake Chalmers is based at Ray-Pec South Middle School.
• Cass County Sheriff’s Deputy Cole Briscoe is based at Ray-Pec High School.
• Raymore Police Officer Rebekah Burns is based at Ray-Pec East Middle School and supports all Raymore schools.
The SRO positions are part of the district’s continuing effort to enhance safety and security for staff, students, and visitors. In addition to handling law enforcement matters, School Resource Officers occasionally assist with educational programming for students, presentations to parents, facility safety assessments, and staff training.
Mutual aid agreements between the local law enforcement agencies allow the officers to assist each other, if needed.
