Say you know somebody who has been involved in law enforcement for nearly 20 years; someone who has been in the Air Force security forces, a police officer and a state patrolman. He’s worked in a narcotics unit, with a canine unit and he has done jobs that were both mentally and physically exhausting. Would you be scared of him? North Platte High School’s new student resource Officer J. Johnson is all of those things.

Let’s go back to that question now, should you be intimidated by him? “Absolutely not!” Johnson says, “People assume I’m looking for trouble, but I’m here for the students.” Johnson thinks the fear-factor has a lot to do with his uniform and his 30-pounds of gear. However, that’s not how he wants the students to feel; that’s not his goal. He once had a situation where an 18-year-old student didn’t want to live at home due to an unhealthy environment and that student’s parents had said that she couldn’t move out until she was 19. “It put me in a hard spot as a parent myself. Although I didn’t agree, I wasn’t going to lie,” he said. The girl was able to move out on her own. “I didn’t believe it was the right choice, but there is a difference between your personal beliefs and your professional,” he said, “I didn’t judge her.”

Johnson said he isn’t here to scope out trouble but to protect us. His philosophy is to treat others the way you want to be treated, and give respect to get respect. Johnson has an open-door policy and is always available to help. “I’ll come out of my office just so people can see me, and know that I’m here to protect the school. I want to be approachable and have students know that they can come talk to me at all times,” he said. As our new student resource officer, and the elementary school’s D.A.R.E. teacher, he’s very approachable. “When I’m out there, I’m not looking for a problem.”