What to Know
- A firestorm is brewing for Alan Simon as the mayor faces allegations he abused his power and potentially endanger high school students and staff
- Parents aired frustration on the first day of school after learning the Spring Valley High School resource officer was taken from his post
- The school district shared a statement: “It is our hope that the Spring Valley mayor and the Spring Valley Police Department resolve their differences quickly so that we can restore consistency to our SRO program”
The mayor of Spring Valley is now under fire by members of law enforcement for telling the local police chief he is being suspended and for abolishing a critical school resource officer position.
As kids left Spring Valley High School after the first day of classes, parents expressed worries about safety after finding out that trusted school resource officer, Quacy Evelyn, had been removed by Mayor Alan Simon.
The police chief said Evelyn’s position at the school had been eliminated by the mayor — who was furious when approached by the News 4 I-Team.
“This is my private office. Get out,” Simon shouted on camera.
There are still civilian guards at the school, but Evelyn’s disappearance came as a shock to parents on the first day of school.
The school district shared a statement: “It is our hope that the Spring Valley mayor and the Spring Valley Police Department resolve their differences quickly so that we can restore consistency to our SRO program.”
Parents said Evelyn was more more than a cop policing the halls.
“There are some students who don’t have fathers. [Evelyn] is a father figure to them, he encourages the students, he pushes them to be the best you can be,” parent Cynthia Grey said.
In the school parking lot in April 2022, Evelyn was the officer who applied a tourniquet to a student who had been stabbed by another teen. On Thursday, he was back on street patrol checking on abandoned vehicles.
Law enforcement sources said Evelyn had refused Mayor Simon’s orders to report to him weekly on the behavior of certain school officials. Simon rebuffed the I-Team’s attempts to ask questions about the matter.
“Goodbye, good luck,” Simon shouted as he pushed the news team out of his office.
A few minutes later, the police chief was summoned to the mayor’s office. Law enforcement sources said Simon wanted to have the News 4 I-Team arrested. That did not happen.
Parents, meanwhile, just want Evelyn back on the job.
“He treated these kids like they were his kids. So I am very concerned about the safety here because when fights break out, he’s the one who was there to cut it out,” Beria Lauture, another parent, said.
“You released a man who is a big authority in the school, and we want answers and we want them now,” Grey added.
The Rockland County Police Chiefs Association told News 4 they firmly stand behind the police chief in Spring Valley.
