Police Officers Assigned to Union Campus

East Central College will begin the 2016 fall semester with a Union police officer permanently assigned to the Union campus.

Union police officer Tommie Lowe is assigned to work primarily on campus during the daytime. Union police officer Todd Schlitt will be scheduled during the evening once his replacement completes his training as a traffic officer later this year.

The college agreed to a contract earlier this year with the Union police department to have the 2 school resource officers permanently assigned to the campus.

East Central College president Dr. Jon Bauer said the officers will enhance the safety and security of the campus. “The safety and security of our students and employees is paramount. Having officers on our campus enhances the safety of our students and staff.

“Our first goal is deterrence and prevention. But in the event of an incident on campus, the officers will be able to respond in minutes,” Bauer said.

In addition to patrolling the campus, the officers will help the college with emergency planning and training.

In an effort to keep start-up costs manageable, the Union police department will pay half of the officer’s salaries and equipment costs for the first two years of the agreement.

Union police chief Norman Brune said having the officers on the east side of Union cuts down on the department’s response time to the area. “In the event we have a serious situation on the east side of town, the campus officers will be able to respond to that incident much faster. We will have officers cover the campus while the campus resource officers respond.”