New SRO Begins In Lexington

Harlie Curry Former Nurse, First Responder

As Lexington students return to school this week, they will see a new face – that of Officer Harlie Curry, the new resource officer for Lexington Public Schools.

“I like new experiences and challenges, so I’m thankful for this opportunity,” Curry told The News-Gazette on Monday.

Curry joined the Lexington Police Department in October of 2023 following a year serving with the Covington Police Department.

Prior to becoming a police officer, Curry built a strong resume as a nurse and a first responder. She joined the Iron Gate Volunteer Fire Department as a junior member at age 14 and had earned her EMT-B certification by age 16. After graduating from Alleghany High School in 2010, she earned an associate’s degree in nursing from Dabney S. Lancaster Community College and became a registered nurse. Over the next nine years, she worked as an ICU nurse, a travel nurse and an ER charge nurse before graduating from the Police Academy in 2022.

That wide-ranging background was one of the things that impressed Lexington Superintendent Rebecca Walters and the other administrators.

“We just think that’s a pretty amazing background for her to have,” Walters told The News-Gazette last week. “She will be able to bring some really unique skills, having worked in patient care and having worked in an ICU with a lot of decision-making and also doing some instruction as a lead nurse, and so those are some pieces that we think could transfer really, really nicely into the SRO role, because she is serving in the capacity as an educator in our schools.”

Officer Curry will primarily be stationed at Lylburn Downing Middle School, but will serve as a resource officer for both the middle school and Waddell Elementary.

“We are really excited to bring her on board. She brings a really great enthusiasm and positive energy and we’re always looking for folks who can bring that to our school community,” Walters said. “We’re really excited to have her on board and we’re really looking forward to the great things that she’ll do this year.”

Lexington Police Chief Angela Greene recommended Curry to Walters to fill the role.

“I liked Officer Curry’s demeanor because of her willingness to actively listen and to get all sides of the story before making a decision, which is something we like to look at – for school resource officers not to make quick judgments if they have the time to get all the information that they can,” she told The News-Gazette.

Curry will be undergoing additional training over the next several months to help make her a more effective resource officer, including juvenile mental health training, DCJS threat assessment training and general investigative training. She will also be receiving her general instructor certification and will be teaching an elective course beginning in January that will cover an array of topics from social media dangers to first aid.

“She’s doing a lot of robust things that the previous school resource officer did not do,” Chief Greene said. “I knew she would take this program and excel and bring it to the next level. She’s already hit the ground running and has a lot of things laid out, foundationally, that she will put into place come January.”

In addition to the class she’ll be teaching, Curry also plans to start a mentorship program in the schools, which will pair students with either a police officer or a peer to help them in areas where they may be struggling. She told The News-Gazette that she wants to be available for any students to come and talk to her.

“I want it to be like an open door policy,” she said. “I want the students to feel comfortable coming to me and talking to me, so my door is always going to be open for them.”

Lexington has had a school resource officer program in effect since the fall of 2022.