Clay County school guardian arrested on cocaine charge at Middleburg High campus
Clay County FL December 18 2020 A 42-year-old security officer at Middleburg High School has been arrested after cocaine was found in his vehicle on the campus at 3750 County Road 220, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said.
Douglas Charles Batchelder, a Clay County school district guardian, was charged with possession of cocaine. No arrest photo or information on his booking is available since he is a law enforcement official and is exempted, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Guardians are armed personnel who “aid in the prevention or abatement of active assailant incidents on school premises,” according to the school district. The guardian program was started at schools statewide in 2018 following the Feb. 14, 2018, mass shooting at Broward County’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people and injured 17 more.
Schools spokeswoman Nicole Young said the district “does not tolerate this type of behavior,” saying Batchelder resigned after working as a guardian since summer 2019.
The investigation began after detectives received information that Batchelder, 42, was involved in the use of illegal narcotics, the Sheriff’s Office said. Investigators met with the schools police chief at the high school, then joined Batchelder as a Sheriff’s Office K-9 checked his vehicle for the presence of illegal drugs.
Detectives found a brown wallet in the driver’s-side door with a white substance that field-tested positive as cocaine, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Guardians are either school employees who volunteer to handle security in addition to official duties or specifically hired for the job, school officials said. They must pass psychological and drug screenings as well as a minimum of 144 hours of training.
