Local kids return as police officers

O fficer Jo Donna Salt, 28, is the school resource officer at Monument Valley High School in Utah.

She is Tód’ch'’i'nii (Bitter Water Clan), born for Naaneesht'ézh’ Tábaahá (Zuni Division of the Edge Water Clan).

She is single with no children and has been with the Navajo Police for two years. She is a 1999 graduate of Navajo Preparatory School in Farmington and is originally from Kayenta.

"Being a police officer was always something I wanted to do," Salt said. "I finally decided that it was time and I applied."

Making a difference in the community is her goal, particularly by decreasing gang activity on school grounds, which school officials say she has done.

"With a larger school you have to be constantly out more where the majority of the students are at," she said.

Her SRO training also has sharpened her skills for detecting drug use among students, and at sensing when a fight is imminent.

That's where she tries to step in, especially if a student is acting out due to personal problems at home or with friends.

Salt said she also is hoping to curb domestic violence and substance abuse that affects the students, but said, "We're just taking it one step at a time."

Officer Virgil Smith, 31, is the SRO at Navajo Mountain High. He has been married eight years and has two daughters. He is Naadáá' Ligai/Naasht'ézh’ Dine'é (White Corn Clan/Zuni Clan), born for Táchii'nii (Red Running into Water Clan).

Like Salt, he is a local kid who returned to help his community.

     Ironically, Smith was once a student of Orlo Knight, the acting principal and vocational instructor at Navajo Mountain. Knight first met Smith in his social studies and government class at Monument Valley High in Kayenta.

"He was an average kid," Knight recalled. "He bounced off the walls sometimes and he did his work, although I think he could've done better."

Then, bestowing one of the highest compliments a Navajo can receive, Knight said of Smith, "He was brought up right and I think it's awesome to have him here."

Knight recalled one incident, in particular: "You remember that robbery that took place about two years ago?"

Suspects in a bank robbery in Cortez, Colo., had made their way into the reservation and found themselves at a dead end near the school, which is located about one and a half hours from the nearest tribal police station in Kayenta.

"It was sure good to have Officer Smith here because he knew about it and immediately put the school in lockdown," Knight recalled. "He had all the doors locked and had the students and staff in the gym.

"He was right here and immediately knew what to do. It was sure good to have him because he knew what was going on and everyone here felt safe knowing that he was here."

Schools throughout the reservation could benefit from having an SRO on campus, Salt and Smith believe. At first wary, students at their schools have come to trust them and that trust is spreading out into the community as well, they both said.

Officer Dejuan Tolth of the Shiprock Police District, SRO for Whitehorse High School, could not be reached for comment as of press time Wednesday.

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