An Ignacio School District resource officer has been charged with one count of child abuse following an incident in which the officer allegedly pushed a student to the ground during school hours.
Sixth Judicial District Attorney Sean Murray said the incident took place at 2:39 p.m. May 7 on the Ignacio Middle School campus. School Resource Officer Preston Donald Rea allegedly pushed a 12-year-old child to the ground. The child was in seventh grade.
“After a thorough investigation conducted by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, I have decided to file a charge against a School Resource Officer with the Ignacio Police Department,” said a Wednesday decision letter signed by Murray.
Murray declined to share additional details about the circumstances surrounding the incident. He said he could not share footage of the incident – neither body camera nor campus security footage – due to the case being active and victim protection considerations.
“The district attorney’s office takes use of force seriously and will continue to enforce the law without fear or favor if excessive force is used by law enforcement,” Murray told The Durango Herald.
Rea was charged by summons and complaint and is expected to appear in La Plata County Court at 8:30 a.m. July 8 for an advisement hearing.
Rea, who worked with all schools in the Ignacio School District, was assigned by the Ignacio Police Department in 2019 to work collaboratively with the district.
A page on the Ignacio School District website describes a school resource officer as a “carefully selected, specifically trained, and properly equipped law enforcement officer with sworn authority, trained in school-based law enforcement and crisis response.”
Multiple school resource officers used to be assigned to the district, but for the past year only Rea has been employed as a school resource officer, said Ignacio School District Superintendent Chris deKay.
The incident was immediately reported to law enforcement after being brought to the district’s attention, deKay said.
“We did cooperate with the investigation – whatever they asked for,” he said. “… It certainly was an unfortunate situation. … Safety is very important to the school district.”
The district intends to work with the Ignacio Police Department to hire a new school resource officer, he said.
Rea, a veteran officer with more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement who previously worked as a school resource officer in Durango, came out of retirement for the Ignacio School District role.
Prior to 2019, it had been 20 years since Ignacio School District had a school resource officer, according to former Ignacio Police Chief Kirk Phillips.
Phillips told the Herald in 2019 that part of the intention of bringing in a school resource officer was to create a positive relationship between students and police.
This is not the first time a person of authority has been charged on suspicion of physical assault at Ignacio School District.
An Ignacio High School teacher was accused of assaulting a 15-year-old student in 2015 and faced misdemeanor charges. The case was ultimately dismissed in 2017.
A judge ruled that Murphy was immune from prosecution under state law, which allows teachers to use physical force if they’re acting in self-defense or in good-faith compliance with the school code of discipline.
In a letter to the school board, former Superintendent Rocco Fuschetto said the teacher tackled, dragged and shoved the student against a wall after the student refused to remove his headphones.
Fuschetto recommended in the letter that the teacher be dismissed for insubordination, neglect of duty and other “good and just cause.”
Ignacio Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. It is unknown if he faces suspension or is still employed with the agency.
Rea did not respond to a message left on his work voicemail.
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