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Officer building trust on and off the court at Princeton High School · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Officer b building trust on and off the court at
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  Princeton High School. Written by Kevin Hieronymus. This article is
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  being read by an automated voice brought to you by
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  Everlett Aptam. Gutshell is combining two of his loves in
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  one place at Princeton High School. By day, he is
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  the resource officer at Princeton High School for the Princeton
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  Police Department. At night, he is Coach Gutshell, the assistant
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  JV boys basketball coach. Gutshell, the resource officer at PHS
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  since January twenty twenty, and an eighteen year member of
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  the Princeton Police Department, says the role is a refreshing
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  change from patrol duty. On patrol, a lot of time
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  you're dispatched to something negative. That's how law enforcement is.
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  He said. There are negatives that happen PHS, but the
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  atmosphere is very positive. I truly enjoy talking to kids,
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  talking to staff about stuff that's non police related. Really
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  still doing law enforcement work, just a different style. Gutshall
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  starts his day at seven thirty am, greeting the students
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  as they arrive for the school day with Jeff Olson,
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  the Dean of Students, assistant principal and athletic director, while
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  serving as a resource for the school, acting as a
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  liaison for law enforcement, including counseling. Gutshal's main job is
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  providing security for the school, which he describes as a
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  little town of five hundred people with students and staff.
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  It can be different each day, kind of like on
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  the road, he said. I enjoy it. I like helping
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  people with problems they don't think they can solve themselves
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  and assist with that. I've become softer. I guess that's
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  part of being a dad too. I've become more patient
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  and more understanding of some things that people go through
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  and act the way they do. Gutshal, a father of four, said,
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  it's all about gaining trust with the students. You give
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  the kids a different perspective on law enforcement, that we're humans,
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  we're dads, we're brothers, coaches, he said, there's a different
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  side of law enforcement. You can talk to them. It's
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  not always a negative perception or interaction with us. Just
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  try to be a positive influence. Try not to hound them.
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  They've got the teachers to go to. They don't need
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  the guy with the uniform and the duty belt. On
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  constantly harassing them. Where are you going, why are you here?
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  And all that stuff. One thing Gottshall doesn't do is
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  enforce school policies. There's no reason for it. I have
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  no interest in doing it. The amount of times I
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  have kids talking to me, they may not feel comfortable
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  talking to a staff member about it. He said. You
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  help them with problems they don't think they can solve themselves. Gutshall,
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  who coached the seventh grade state girls basketball team at
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  Logan Junior High and has coached at the Metro Center
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  for several years, said being a coach at PHS helps
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  students see him in a different light. It lets them
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  know I'm not just a copp Yes, I'm law enforcement,
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  but I'm a dad, a coach. I have a son,
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  I have nephew's daughters. He said. It's a different interaction.
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  You can joke with them a little bit more, not
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  saying I don't joke with them in uniform, but it's
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  a lot more open. I think it's developing trust with
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  the kids. Ah, he's more than just that guy. He's
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  developed such a close relationship with his athletes that some
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  will call him coach during the school day when he's
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  clearly in uniform. It's nothing out of disrespect. They think
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  of me as a coach who happens to be a
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  cop too, That's fine with me, he said. Gutshall's son
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  Noah and nephew, Deacon Gutschall, are both sophomores at PHS.
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  He jokes that he has sympathy for them because when
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  I was growing up, my dad, Terry was principal Bureau Valley,
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  So when I was in high school, I was kind
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  of dreading that. But there was always a nice little
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  resource because he was there. He added, there was always
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  a wallet there if I needed more cash for a
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  vending machine. A standout on Bureau Valley's state basketball and
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  playoff football teams, gut Shall said his athletic career helped
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  prepare him for his job, especially as a training instructor.
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  I've been blessed with having a bunch of good coaches
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  through junior high with coach Dale Donner, leading up to
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  high school with coach Brad Bickett, coach Brett Helms, and
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  in college with coach Russ Damhoff. He said, how they
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  structured practice, the efficiency of practice, the effectiveness of practice,
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  it definitely translated into my profession in law enforcement. He
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  jokes that he can still hear the voice of coach
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  Bickett and how he approached the game of basketball. One
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  thing about bick he always uses the word passionate about
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  playing basketball. Gutschall said, I guess I try to do
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  that too with law enforcement, the training part of it.
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  Be passionate about it. It's bigger than you. It's a
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  responsibility and not all about you. It's about the people
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  around you.