NB school liaison officer not coming, COPS grant not lost

By Barbara Brown
Isle interim police chief Gary Lambert will not join the North Branch Police Department after all.
Lambert, who worked for many years as chief of the Cambridge Police Department, planned to start work as school liaison officer for the police department after the city council voted to offer the job to him at its Sept. 9 meeting.
Lambert said Tuesday that he applied for the job because he enjoys working with youth and that he believed his years of police work would be useful in the schools.
He came to the North Branch police office Sept. 10 and picked up his weapon and keys for the office, Lambert said.
ìWe had every intention of moving,î Lambert said. ìWe even were looking at an apartment.
ìI did some of the training,î he said, ìbut my wife and I decided it wasnít the right thing to do.î
Lambert and his wife, he said, had prayed about whether to take the job and got a ìsense of peace about staying in Isle.î
On Sept. 12, Lambert told police chief Jules Zimmer he could not accept the job.
ìI really struggled with the decision,î Lambert said. ìI didnít want to let anyone down. I just donít think itís the right time to leave Isle.î
Lambert said he had not been counter offered the full-time police chief position in Isle to get him to stay there, although ìI am trying for it,î he said.
Zimmer said he was disappointed that Lambert would not be joining the force.
He said until a new officer can be hired for the granted school officer job, the current school liaison officer will work double duty.
Officer Wayne Schwalbe will spend time in all of the schoolís buildings and he will be assisted on occasion by investigator Todd Frank.
Previously, the Chisago County Sheriffís Office assigned a school liaison officer to North Branch schools.
Former sheriffís deputy Jon Serago turned in his badge to sit behind a desk this year. He was hired as a teacher in the district.
ìIt puts us behind,î Zimmer said Tuesday of Lambertís decision to not accept the job. ìInstead of having an officer start in two weeks, we have to go through the hiring process again.î
Zimmer said he hoped the second full-time school liaison officer would be in the schools by the beginning of December.
Zimmer said the city will not lose the $125,000 COPS grant that is meant to pay for the officer for three years. He said funding will kick in when a new officer is hired.

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