SALEM, Va. – If you’re walking the halls of Andrew Lewis Middle School, you’ll find a friendly face: Officer David Goodman. He’s been a school resource officer there for the past three years, following in his dad’s footsteps who also worked for the Salem Police Department. But Goodman’s making a name for himself as Salem’s 2020 Officer of the Year. Principal Jamie Garst said Goodman redefines what school resource officers should be. “We can teach them to be good officers, we can’t teach them to be good people,” said Crawley.

SALEM, Va. – Members of the Salem Police Department gave a 32-year-old school resource officer one of their top honors. Goodman, is a resource officer at Andrew Lewis Middle School and even through a pandemic continues to care for the students he serves. “A lot happens in a teenager’s life in middle school, as they go through all types of emotional and physical changes.” said Goodman. AdHis dad, Richard Goodman, served as a Salem police officer from 1993 to 2004. David began his law enforcement career at age 20, working at the Botetourt County Sheriff’s Office.

SALEM, Va. In response to all of the unrest around the country since the death of George Floyd, Salem police officers are hitting the streets in a new way. Armed with stickers and a desire for conversation, senior Salem police officer David Goodman and Sgt. Wednesday's park patrol was part of the department's new initiative called CULTURE, which stands for community understanding leadership through unbiased response engagement. This was only the second week of the initiative, but Malek and Goodman said its already working. We have a better understanding of why people are upset and what things we can do to better police the community, said Goodman.