School resource officer injured; Lorain Schools' safety coordinator filling in

LORAIN — The district is without a resource officer from Lorain police. Officer Tom Orlosky was injured at the end of January during an altercation with a group of students and one adult. He is out on medical leave. In the meantime, safety coordinator Reuben Figueroa is filling in. According to a report from Lorain police, Orlosky was called to the front of the high school during dismissal Jan. 27 for a 17-year-old boy who was not a student on the property and arguing with school safety officers. Delayed by dismissal traffic, Orlosky caught up to the group of teens once they were off school property, walking on Ashland Avenue toward West 28th Street. Orlosky attempted to stop the boy, who initially walked away, then later refused to give the officer his name. According to the report, Orlosky attempted to detain the boy, but his arm was pushed away and another teen and James Williams, 18, stepped between Orlosky and the 17-year-old and began pushing the officer away. Orlosky reportedly called for backup, as he was outnumbered and "totally exposed for a potential ambush situation." While waiting, he continued to try to arrest the teen and was continually pushed away by others in the group. Once he got the teen on the ground the boy began hitting him in the side. Orlosky threatened the group with his Taser, and they eventually stepped back as police sirens got closer. According to the report, Figueroa arrived and helped Orlosky arrest the teen. After a scuffle, another officer arrested the other 17-year-old Lorain High student who had gotten between Orlosky and the other boy. A teenage girl was additionally cited for obstructing official business and resisting arrest for trying to pull the second 17-year-old away from police while he was being arrested. In an email, Capt. Ed Super said he was unsure when Orlosky would return to full duty and declined to release the extent of his injuries. "If he does not return to SRO duties by the end of the school year, we will have to discuss replacing him with another SRO," he wrote. "That discussion has not taken place yet." Figueroa said he is "doing double duty," as the department can't afford to assign another officer with its staffing levels. "I'm doing a lot of the work to try to be a presence in the building because Lorain police has low manpower," he said. "I'm trying to hold down the fort, but that's kind of the benefit of my job that I did (being deputized) because if that weren't the case we would have no armed officer (in the district)." Figueroa is a former Lorain police officer who was deputized by the Lorain County Sheriff's Office last fall. This is the second time in just over a year the district has lost its resource officer due to injury. Officer David Kusznir was injured while off-duty toward the end of January 2019. Kusznir's departure from the district sparked contention among former Lorain Schools administrators, the mayor and Lorain police. Then-CEO David Hardy Jr. requested a substitute officer, after he had told then-Chief Cel Rivera the district could do without for the rest of the year. Former Mayor Chase Ritenauer defended Rivera and the police department. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.