School resource officers are the eyes and ears of law enforcement inside the hallways of schools. Rumors at a Cumberland County elementary school led an SRO to stop a planned school shooting.
The majority of districts in the area have an officer assigned to patrol every school and be someone students can go to for help.
At South Knoxville Elementary School, students race to the lunch room to get a seat next to Officer G.
A chance to sit at his table is a privilege and a chance to learn.
"How to be a respectful person, how to treat other people. How to make good choices or bad choices," said Officer Doug Grimm. "To have the time to spend with the kids to see how their feeling, make sure they’re ok, make sure they are feeling safe and no one is picking on them."
Grimm is one of around 100 school resource officers in Knox County, at least one in every school.
Knox County placed school resource officers at every school in 2013.
Among others, Anderson County Schools, Blount County Schools, and Clinton Schools all have officers stationed at every school.
"I sit here and be with the kids here in the cafeteria but I’m also able to keep an eye on the outside and the inside of the school," said Grimm. "If they don’t feel safe talking to me, if they don’t feel comfortable around me, they aren’t going to let me know when there are things that I need to know about."
Officer G can only keep watch on so much by himself, but with every student on his side, safety is everyone’s priority.
"While it’s primarily my job," Grimm said. "I’ve got 170 different sets of eye balls looking out."