Camarillo High to say goodbye to school resource officer

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers WILL BE MISSED- Adolfo Camarillo High School resource officer Dep. Gary Niebergall will leave his assignment at the Camarillo campus in late July. Two days later he's expected to begin training as a Marine Corps reservist before being deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan in the fall. Adolfo Camarillo High School will soon see a changing of the guard.

Dep. Gary Niebergall has finished his three-year assignment as the school resource officer and will leave on July 25.

Just two days later, Niebergall, a Marine Corps reservist whose company is expected to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, will report for military training before he's sent overseas in the fall.

The memories of his time at Camarillo high, though, will be fresh in his mind.

"It's a great job and I really liked working with the kids" said Niebergall, 44, who's a 10-year veteran with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, the contract agency for the Camarillo Police Department. "It was nice to get involved with the 97 percent, 98 percent of kids doing good, being productive citizens. So it was refreshing."

Niebergall, who will eventually return to patrol duties, said teenagers are often suspicious of police and he was glad to have had the chance to offer a more personal view of law enforcement to the students.

The personal connections have paid off, he said. Some former students who had difficulties in school or at home have called him to say thanks for his positive encouragement.

"It's nice that something I'm doing is sinking into somebody," Niebergall said.

But one of his most gratifying moments came last November, when he arrested a classroom aide for stealing from a special education student.

"I was really happy to get her out of the school," he said. "That was very satisfying."

Niebergall will be missed by the school's administration, too.

"He's been an outstanding resource officer, outstanding. And I've worked with a lot of resource officers," Principal Glenn Lipman said. The school is running smoothly and "part of that is due to Dep. Niebergall and how he's conducted problems and legal business. He's been a great asset to our school."

The school resource officer is a soughtafter threeyear assignment that requires the police officer to be a teacher, counselor and have plenty of patience, said Senior Dep. Julie Novak, who until recently was Niebergall's supervisor.

"Dep. Niebergall has been amazing," she said. "I've never seen him rattled … You can't just put any officer in there (and) be successful."

In his three years at Camarillo High, Niebergall has focused on curbing graffiti and gang activity. And he's been quick to prevent trouble, as well, Novak said. When he'd hear rumors a student fight was brewing, he'd counsel the teens involved to settle the dispute before violence erupted, she said.

Novak said Niebergall has built a good rapport with students and staff to the point that he was nominated two years ago as school employee of the year, even though he officially works for the Camarillo Police Department.

"That's how much they love him there," Novak said.

Two days after Niebergall leaves the school in July he and his Marine Corps reserve unit will attend military training for a couple of weeks in preparation for deployment overseas.

The father of three children ages 6 to 12 said he knows his family will worry about him, but he feels compelled to serve. He joined the reserves not long after being discharged from the Marine Corps, going from active to inactive status when his children were younger. He signed up for active duty earlier this year.

"I missed it; it was a big part of my life," Niebergall said. "I knew what I was getting into when I signed up to come back."

Gina Niebergall said she has mixed feelings about her husband leaving for the Middle East but gave him her blessing because she knows how much it means to him to be with his company.

"I told him I'd support him," Gina Niebergall said. "I'm terribly proud of him; I know we're not the only family making sacrifices."

She said she and the children will worry about Niebergall's safety but will rely on an expansive network of family and friends for emotional support.

"We're just very lucky," Gina Niebergall said.