Meet the Sharon Police Department’s School Resource Officer – Giovani Valmond.

In honor of National School Resource Officer Appreciation Day today, Feb. 15, we thought you’d like to get to know the Sharon Police Department’s SRO – Giovani Valmond.

Officer Valmond became the School Resource Officer in December. He has been a member of the Sharon Police Department for two years.

His job as SRO is to build relationships with students, and between the Police Department and the community.

He has an office at Sharon High School and spends time at all five Sharon Public Schools, walking the halls, visiting classrooms, saying hello to students and teachers, even joining kids for lunch.

Teaching is also a part of an SRO’s job. Officer Valmond instructs students on topics such as social media, bullying, intoxicated driving and rules of road.

In addition to teaching, there is the law enforcement side of the job. Officer Valmond handles cases where students are alleged to have committed a crime.

“People think we’re there only for when kids are in trouble or if there was (a school shooting or incident),” he said.

“I’m there just in case that were to happen, but I’m in the schools every day to build relationships and teach them.”

One of Officer Valmond’s favorite experiences on the job so far was just being there for a student who was having a difficult day, giving him some one-on-one attention.

“Having a School Resource Officer is essential to fostering positive relationships between police, students, parents, faculty and community,” Sharon Police Chief Stephen Coffey said. “Not every officer can be a School Resource Officer, it must be a good fit for everyone. Here in Sharon we have been lucky to have officers in the schools that have the right personality, attitude and motivation.”

The Sharon Police Department SRO program began in 2008 with retired SRO Mike Hocking.

Officer John Marsinelli is the department’s back-up SRO.

In addition to regular police training, SROs receive National Association of School Resource Officer (NASRO) and Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training.

It also helps that Officer Valmond is a Sharon High School graduate. He knows the schools and still knows many staff members from when they were his teachers.

As a high school student, he watched SRO Hocking and said that’s what he wanted to do when he graduated.

“I love kids, that’s why,” he said

Officer Valmond’s strongest inspirations to become a police officer are his brother and uncle. His brother worked in the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office, the Norfolk, VA Police Department and was training to be U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer when he died in 2019.

His uncle is a detective with the Boston Police Department.

“Just seeing them in the uniform at a young age made me look more into it,” he said.

To be a presence and to get to know students better, Officer Valmond said he’s been to every single boys varsity basketball game, as well as some track practices. He stops by the health and wellness classes. A fitness nut, he sometimes visits the school weight room where he offers tips on proper lifting. He plans to visit school clubs.

Earlier this month, he took part in a student v. staff basketball game during a pep rally.

“I had an amazing time with the students and look forward to being a part of future events with all Sharon schools,” he said.

SRO Valmond said the best part of his job is seeing the students

“Every single day, seeing them smile, saying good morning, it just makes me happy.” he said.

“I always tell the other officers, if you’re having a bad day go into the elementary schools and just say hi to the kids because they get so excited to see you. It makes your day.”