VIDEO: With School Starting Soon, AG Moody Urges Students to Help Prevent Crime and Protect Classmates by Engaging with Hallway Heroes

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-As Florida students prepare for a new academic year, Attorney General Ashley Moody is honoring the outstanding efforts of Volusia County school resource deputies with a Thin Line Tribute and encouraging students to help prevent crime by engaging with Hallway Heroes. Attorney General Moody created the Thin Line Tribute to recognize the daily efforts and show support for front-line law enforcement officers. Last year, Attorney General Moody launched Hallway Heroes to encourage students to build bonds of trust with school resource officers-making it easier to report suspicious or criminal activity in schools.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, "Our school resource deputies are the unsung, front-line heroes who ensure our schools are safe and secure for students. They play an integral role in protecting youth, who face many grave threats today-from online predators and digital drug dealers to counterfeit pills and illicit vapes containing fentanyl. As students get ready to go back to school, I'm recognizing the brave men and women who serve on campus and urging students to help protect their fellow classmates by reaching out to these Hallway Heroes when they learn of suspicious or dangerous activity."

One threat facing students is dangerous illicit substances, such as fentanyl. Fentanyl is most frequently found in counterfeit prescription pills, created to resemble less harmful drugs. According to a report from the Drug Enforcement Administration, 7 out of 10 pills seized contain a lethal dose. Illicit fentanyl can also be found laced in vape pods. In Volusia County alone, authorities confiscated 30 illicit vapes laced with drugs from students-six of those vapes contained fentanyl. With just two milligrams of fentanyl being enough to cause an overdose, the illicit vapes containing fentanyl could prove lethal.

In October 2023, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office arrested a teenager who ran off campus after being caught vaping in a Deltona High School bathroom. Investigators reported the student left the vape behind, and that it tested positive for fentanyl. Additionally, a student is accused of selling another student a vape laced with drugs in July 2023 that caused the buyer to pass out in a bathroom at DeLand High School.

Also, last July, VCSO responded to a home in DeLand where parents found their 17-year-old child dead in the bedroom, with white powder located near the deceased's cellphone. The powder tested positive for fentanyl. The teen died after using cocaine that was laced with fentanyl, purchased from another 17-year-old in the area-who authorities suspect to be the same dealer who sold a vape to the DeLand High student.

Last year, an Orlando teenager bought and used what was thought to be Percocet but actually contained fentanyl. The teen went into cardiac arrest, and subsequently was in a coma for nearly a month after the incident. As a result of the effects of the overdose, the teen is now in a wheelchair and is even having to relearn how to speak.

In 2022, Miami Beach Police Department School Liaison Officer Hector Guzman's insight and commitment to the school he serves resulted in a dangerous predator being put behind bars. A student alerted Officer Guzman about a substitute teacher who was contacting students inappropriately via Snapchat and soliciting criminal activity. Officer Guzman gathered additional evidence, interviewed other students and notified authorities who arrested the substitute teacher. Attorney General Moody recognized Officer Guzman with a Distinguished Victim Services Award at the 2023 Victims' Rights Week Award Ceremony.

While today's Thin Line Tribute honored the 18 school resource deputies serving in Volusia County, Attorney General Moody thanks all school resource officers and deputies statewide. Attorney General Moody also recognized the School Resource Officer of the Year, Deputy Ceckanowicz, at today's event. Last month, Attorney General Moody named Deputy Ceckanowicz as School Resource Officer of the Year.

For more on the SRO of the Year, click here.

Attorney General Moody launched Thin Line Tribute in 2021 to recognize the daily efforts of front-line officers who work to protect Floridians. Attorney General Moody created Thin Line Tribute to give law enforcement officers the recognition they greatly deserve but may not always receive.

Volusia County schools today also committed to displaying Hallway Heroes material in high schools this academic year. For more on the Hallway Heroes program, click here.

Thin Line Tribute is one of many ways Attorney General Moody shows support for Florida law enforcement. The statewide Back the Blue Award highlights law enforcement officers that go above and beyond the call of duty, as well as citizens and organizations who show extraordinary support of officers.

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