SUMNER COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Inside Nannie Berry Elementary School, Russell Thompson takes his job seriously as their school resource officer.
"So during the day, we make sure that all classroom doors are locked. They have to be locked at all times," Officer Thompson said. "We’re checking the doors to make sure they work properly as well."
But just like the students he protects, he was a little nervous about his first day back to school.
"I was the first SRO at this school, which was new to them, new to me," said Thompson, who started at Nannie Berry in November 2022.
So he contributed a first day of school photo, featuring him asleep on a pool float with a sign saying Please Hit Snooze.
"I wanted to have some fun with it," said Thompson. "I think we can all relate to: can we just put a pause on summer and make it last just a few more minutes?"
The idea came from Officer Thompson's supervisor Sgt. Chris Vines, who posted a similar first-day photo a few years back. The photo depicts Vines holding his lunch box with one hand and a sign with all of his favorite things in the other.
"What my favorite subject was, and of course it was recess," said Vines. "Most little kids, they don’t want to smile for the camera, they don’t want to look at mommy and daddy as they’re taking their picture. So naturally, I was staring off into space looking up to the sky."
Only this year, the whole department joined in on the fun.
"I fired off an email, and I challenged my division to get creative, don’t be shy and let’s see what ya got," said Sgt. Vines.
Some of the submissions included one of the officers posing from his bass boat to another fishing on the banks of the lake. One female officer climbed the jungle gym. The photos got big laughs from the kids.
"Hey we saw you on TV, it was great, and that was so silly," said Officer Thompson.
"The giant lunchbox, that was a good one," remarked Dr. Susan Kolmer, Principal of Nannie Berry Elementary. "I was highly entertained by all the different things the SROs did."
If nothing else, Sgt. Vines hopes it proves a point — that while their job is a serious matter, some of their best work is anything but.
"It shows the goofy side of us, the human side of us, where — we like to cut up and fun just like everybody else does," said Sgt. Vines.
"I love these kids and I’m here to protect them and I don’t think there’s a better job in the world," said Officer Thomas. "For them to see us in a positive, funny light just makes our jobs easier."
To see the full gallery of SRO photos, click here.
