Sheriff suspends school police reserves as questions over authority grow

CLARKESVILLE, Ga. – A vehicle pullover by a Habersham County Schools police officer miles from campus has added a new layer to questions already surrounding the department’s authority, and Sheriff Robin Krockum has now suspended the reserve-deputy status of Police Chief Murray Kogod and Officer Victoria Hopper “until all of this with the agreements [between the sheriff’s office, Board of Education, and county government] are cleared up.”

A far away place

The Aug. 13 traffic stop surfaced as Now Georgia continued examining the school police department following questions over its handling of school bus stop-arm citations.

Records show Hopper, who identified herself on the radio as a Habersham County Schools Police unit, stopped a vehicle at Habersham Mills Road and Bethel Temple Road at approximately 7:06 a.m.

But the location was nowhere near the campus where she works.

Hopper is a school resource officer at Habersham Central High School but the traffic stop occurred more than seven miles from the school and was not documented as being connected to a school activity, student, bus or other school-related function.

A source familiar with Hopper’s assignment told Now Georgia she would normally have been expected to be at the school during that time of the morning.

Listening to the radio

Now Georgia also reviewed dispatch audio from the stop.

Hopper provides dispatch with the Georgia vehicle tag number and describes the car as a blue Subaru. She later provides a driver’s license for a records check before clearing the stop. Now Georgia heard no request for a Habersham County deputy to respond and no request for permission from the Sheriff’s Office to make the stop.

Minutes later, Hopper clears the stop without issuing a citation, a warning or advising a reason for the interaction.

Jurisdiction and the Sheriff

Now Georgia brought the incident to the attention of the Sheriff.

“I was unaware of this, but our normal procedure for outside agencies when witnessing a violation outside of their jurisdiction would be to contact an on-duty deputy over the radio and explain the violation they have witnessed,” Krockum told Now Georgia. “The on-duty deputy would request they perform a traffic stop and then respond to the scene to conduct a further investigation.”

Asked whether his office had anything documenting such a request, Krockum said there was nothing.

“We have no emails, docs, incident reports, or any other documentation related to this stop.”

Georgia law gives qualifying school security personnel the same law-enforcement powers as county or municipal officers “on school property.” O.C.G.A. § 20-8-5 does not, on its face, provide school police with general countywide patrol authority.

A policy manual Now Georgia obtained from Habersham County Schools mirrors state law.

The traffic stop comes as a much larger dispute over the school police department’s operations continues to unfold.

Now Georgia previously reported that Habersham County Schools Police has been approving $1,000 school bus camera citations using the Sheriff’s Office Originating Agency Identifier, or ORI, despite Krockum saying his agency was not reviewing or approving those tickets. The citations also carried the Habersham County government seal.

The arrangement traces back to a 2016 agreement that assigns the law-enforcement portion of the camera program to the Sheriff’s Office — not school police. County officials say they cannot find records showing commissioners approved the agreement, do not have the underlying vendor contract in their files and believe the contract may have expired. The ticketing program has since been temporarily paused.

County Manager Tim Sims said Thursday the county is still waiting for answers.

“We still have not gotten any new information from the BOE here at the County Admin Office,” Sims said.

Superintendent Patrick Franklin was asked who authorized Hopper to conduct an off-campus traffic stop during the beginning of the school day and about the authority under which the stop was made. Franklin and Kogod have not responded to Now Georgia’s questions about the stop or the broader questions surrounding the police department and bus citation program.

For Krockum, the uncertainty has now resulted in action involving his own agency.

Kogod and Hopper were both listed as reserve deputies with the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office. Krockum confirmed he has suspended that status “until all of this with the agreements are cleared up.”

The suspension applies to their reserve status with the Sheriff’s Office, not their employment with Habersham County Schools.

Sims said he supports the sheriff’s decision.

“I do support his decision to suspend their reserve status,” Sims said.

This latest development adds another question to an already growing list: exactly where does Habersham County Schools Police believe its authority, if legitimate, begins — and where does it end?