Mount Prospect Police Officer Lisa Schaps was reinstated Thursday, July 1, 2021 after a decision by Township High School District 214 the previous week to remove the police officer from her position as Special Resource Officer for Prospect High School on Kensington Road in Mount Prospect. The Village of Mount Prospect and Northwest Suburban High School District 214 officials announced the reinstatement of Officer Lisa Schaps in a joint statement Thursday at 5:00 p.m. Schaps was removed last week after District 214 basically ignored her explanation of the “The Thin Blue Line” and emphasized a statement she made that the district previously claimed was inappropriate.
Entire Joint Statement from the Village of Mount Prospect and Township High School District 214
❝ Following last week’s meeting between the Prospect High School administration and the Mount Prospect administration and Police Department regarding Prospect’s School Resource Officer, both parties have had productive, continued conversations. Officer Schaps will continue to serve as the School Resource Officer at Prospect High School for the upcoming school year. Officer Schaps offered the following statement: ‘I enjoy my job serving, protecting, and supporting each of the 2,100 students that come through the school doors on a daily basis and will continue to do so in an equitable manner. I am excited to welcome all students back on August 11th when we start our new school year.’❞
The request for dismissal of Schaps occurred after she and fellow police officer Chris Berg appeared on the “Fox and Friends” morning show June 20, 2021 and discussed the positive meaning of the use of the “thin blue line” which is included in the Mount Prospect Police Department uniform patch. Some believed the dismissal request was because of the Fox News Channel appearance.
However, in a subsequent appearance on Fox News covering the request for her dismissal by District 214, Schaps said that District 214 contacts said she compared being a police officer to being black, but she explained that she actually said “please don’t judge us like you would judge somebody on the color of their skin or their religion or their sexual preference.” Schaps said her statement was really about judgment, but that the school district said her statement was inappropriate.
Original D214 Statement Last Week
“… we did recommend the consideration of having a different officer assigned to this school (Prospect High School) in order for our focus to remain on our students. The school does not have the authority to fire or dismiss a School Resource Officer, so any assertion that the school terminated the School Resource Officer is not correct or accurate.”
— Dave Beery, Interim Communications Supervisor High School District 214
Included in the Joint Statement
“I enjoy my job serving, protecting, and supporting each of the 2,100 students that come through the school doors on a daily basis and will continue to do so in an equitable manner. I am excited to welcome all students back on August 11th when we start our new school year.”
— Lisa Schaps, Mount Prospect Police Department Special Resource Officer at Prospect High School
In a sample of students questioned by CARDINAL NEWS, students replied that Mount Prospect Police Officer Lisa Schaps is “well-liked” and respected by students. Some parents and students alike thought that the initial District 214 statement from Dave Beery, “in order for our focus to remain on our students,” seemed disconnected from the reality that students are happy with their Special Resource Officer at the high school.
Incoming messages to CARDINAL NEWS regarding the news of the dismissal expressed that people are tired of “Cancel Culture.” Several people also encouraged others to contact District 214 and express their support of Police Officer Lisa Schaps and their opposition to the initial District 214 dismissal decision.
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