RCPD director speaks about student safety following school trespassing incident

MANHATTAN (KSNT)- The Riley County Police Director Brain Peete joined the 27 News morning team to speak about numerous topics, one of the most notable being school safety.

Just recently, on Feb. 16, we reported that a suspicious man was at Susan B. Anthony Middle School at the same time that kids were arriving to school. The police were called, but the man had left the premises before a police vehicle arrived on the scene. However, later that morning at around 9:30 a.m., officers received another call, this time from Amanda Arnold Elementary School, where the same man was trespassing on the property.

That man, identified as Samuel Osenga, 22, of Manhattan, was arrested for criminal trespassing. Director Peete said he was dealing with “mental health issues.”

Having said that, Peete wants to work to give as many resources as possible to their mental health partners to ensure a situation like this doesn’t arise again.

“With what we are seeing now, with active shooters across the country, it’s on the forefront of everyone’s mind….the anxiety these situations bring out, it’s on a whole other level because it’s personal,” Peete said. “It’s your family.”

He emphasized the importance of stopping these situations at the start, which begins with getting those individuals the resources they need to improve their mental health.

In addition to speaking about that incident, Director Peete touched on his experience traveling to different cities in and around Manhattan to get to know the community and their specific issues more clearly. Also, he spoke about the Polar Plunge the RCPD did in conjunction with Special Olympics over the weekend, as well as renovations being done to the RCPD website.