The Watson Chapel School District’s police force is in full operation, one month into the school year.
The district board approved a key hire Monday night in DeMarqus Jermon as a certified officer. He and Chief Markeith Neal are the only two certified officers on the new police department.
Neal was hired as chief in July.
Neal, who graduated from Watson Chapel in 2011, was first hired as a custodian in the district from 2013-17. From there he went into law enforcement, first with Pine Bluff Police and then with Arkansas State Police. He most recently served two to three months in the Jefferson County sheriff’s office.
Taking on his current role gave Neal a chance to come back home.
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“When I was in the streets, I was dealing with a lot of juveniles, and I felt like I would be able to make a change with them in the school district, and then my son goes to school here as well,” Neal said. “It’s just on my heart to help change Watson Chapel for the better.”
Having certification to act as a police department will allow Neal and Jermon to make arrests.
“As certified officers, we’ll handle everything that’s criminal,” Neal explained. “Security will have to handle the day-to-day operations as far as with the schools and metal detectors, such as checking the bags when they come in and what not.”
McGee added that Neal would work with the principals to oversee the security of each campus in general. Three security officers are stationed at the high school, three at the junior high school, two at Coleman and one at Edgewood.
Neal said he’d love for every security guard in the district to become certified officers if possible. McGee hopes to have two to four additional certified officers and acquire two police cars, one of which will replace a vehicle that was in an accident.
The district in May allowed McGee to submit an application to the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement for its own department.
“It’s a huge packet we had to fill out,” McGee said. “We had to get letters of recommendation from the state department (of education), from our local law enforcement – from our local sheriff and our Pine Bluff Police Department. It’s just a huge piece he (Neal) had to fill out, our own budget we had to spend with security, now becoming a part of that budget process is how we sustain that department. We’ve just got to go through the Commission on Law Enforcement and Standards and Training to make sure there are certified officers who can take this lead.”