Deputy for the Day

Claire Wilson, a third grader at Stetson Elementary School, can add the title of honorary member of the D49 Safety and Security Team to her list of accomplishments at SES. D49’s Director of Safety and Security Dave Watson deputized Claire during a special ceremony on May 1st.  

“It was an honor and privilege to fulfill her dream to become an Honorary Security Officer for a day,” Watson said. 

Heather Leehang, a special education teacher at SES, coordinated the event with Watson as a special celebration for Claire, who is battling an ongoing critical illness. Leehang said, “Because she was always so big on rules...we had a conversation of, ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ And she said, ‘police officer.’”

A group of officers from the Colorado Springs Police Department attended Claire's ceremony to help make her day more memorable. Sgt. Robert Lichti let Claire ride shotgun in his police cruiser and let her turn on the lights and sirens.

After the ride-along, Claire “Bakered Up (teamed up)” with D49 Security Office Travis Cormaney as he performed a perimeter sweep at SES. 

“Our team ran with it,” Cormaney said, “They created a really nice plaque with our badges. They coordinated with CSPD. We were able to put on this assembly today, recognize her and get her deputized as part of the security team. And it all came together, really nicely.”