Retired police officer goes back to work for Broken Arrow schools after Uvalde tragedy

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Security officer Scott Bross spends a few hours a day checking for locked doors from inside and outside of the school buildings to make sure schools are safe for students in Broken Arrow.

“Our timing is critical on everything to make sure they’re safe and everything is locked up for them,” Bross said.

He left retirement and a different job to come back to police work of a different kind on the security team for Broken Arrow Public Schools for one reason.

“Uvalde. I think there is no other word that describes it better,” said Bross.

At the time of the tragic school shooting in Uvalde on May 24, Bross had been retired for several years from the Broken Arrow Police Department and was working outside of law enforcement.

He said the ages of the students killed in the Uvalde shooting were close to his own grandchildren’s ages and it was difficult for him.

“When I left the police department, I left because I was done,” Bross said. “Uvalde took place and it kind of set me down a soul-searching mission to see if I was happy doing what I was doing and realize that I still had this urge and this need, I think, to stay in this arena in terms of jobs. Uvalde definitely hammered that home.”

So he called his old sergeant, Jeff Martin, who now heads up the security team at Broken Arrow Public Schools, to bring his police experience and his desire to protect children to the schools.

“Oh, right away, it was ‘Come on,’ because I already knew what I was getting out of Scott,” Martin said. “I worked with him for such a long time. I knew exactly what he could provide, what his skill set was.”

Bross stays close to his old home training with the Broken Arrow Police Department in his new home turf for incidents he hopes never happens.

“So we’re all thinking alike. We’re all moving alike,” Bross said. “We’re all training in the same fashion so when we do get into a situation, I know that the guy on my left, my right, behind me, are thinking and are going to react the same way I am.”

Bross patrols four schools within a mile of each other, protecting more than 2,300 students.

“My favorite part of the day is probably when they hit the playground and the cafeteria,” Bross said. “You get to spend time with them. In the cafeteria, I spend a lot of time opening milk cartons and tying shoes, which is absolutely amazing.”

Bridget Powell is the principal at Aspen Creek Elementary School, one of the four schools Bross patrols. She said having Bross there brings a sense of relief and conversations with parents about the school’s priorities.

Broken Arrow Public Schools more than doubled its security team this year, bringing on six more security officers with two more open positions. Five of the security officers are former law enforcement officers. Together, they have more than 140 years of experience in law enforcement.

“Parents calling and saying, ‘There’s a police officer at the school. What’s going on?’ and just having the opportunity to explain to them what our district has provided for us in conjunction with our security team with the district,” Powell said.

In the seriousness of Bross’ work keeping children safe, there are lighter moments like playing ball with them at recess.

“Oh yeah, they beat me,” he said with a laugh.

And then there are the students’ honest questions.

“‘Why are you here? What’s wrong? Why are you bald?’ I’ve had that a couple of times,” he said.

At Aspen Creek Elementary School, Bross is beloved, and he enjoys the relationships he is building with the students.