An 84-year-old veteran of the Korean war who also served as a police officer for decades was relieved of his job as a crossing guard and had his guns seized after criticizing a school resource officer (SRO) for allegedly leaving his post during school hours.
Stephen Nichols, who worked as a crossing guard in Tisbury, Massachusetts, was eating at Linda Jean’s restaurant in Oak Bluff and speaking with another patron when a waitress reportedly overheard part of their conversation. As the MV Times reported, Nichols said he was discussing the SRO’s alleged visits to Xtra Mart to get coffee when children came to school in the morning. Nichols said that he told his friend that someone could “shoot up the school” as the SRO was “leaving his post.”
Nichols, who was a Morse Code specialist for the U.S. Army, told the MV Times, “When I was in the U.S. Army, and it wasn’t just me, it’s anybody who’s in the U.S. service, if you are on guard duty for eight hours, you didn’t leave that position. … And I’m just so accustomed to that, that when I see someone who’s supposed to be protecting kids … leave the school unguarded — if you’re on guard duty, you stay there.”
The waitress reported Nichols to the police two days later, prompting Police Chief Mark Saloio and another police officer to relieve Nichols from working as a crossing guard while he was at the job , then going to Nichols’ home and confiscating his firearms license and guns, as the MV Times reported. – READ MORE