At the August school board meeting, Whitesboro ISD Police Chief Aaron Scott conducted a swearing-in ceremony for the district’s newest reserve officer, Kery O’Bryan.
O’Bryan grew up in Collinsville, and after graduating from high school, enlisted in the Marines where he served for four years. When his service ended, he didn’t quite know where to go next. His strong work ethic and his family history of firefighters and paramedics were leading him toward either becoming a firefighter or a police officer.
In 2011, he graduated from the police academy and started working in Prosper. He served that area for about four-and-a-half years before moving to Aubrey, where he served for about three years. He took a break from full-time police work and worked as a Reserve Officer at Northeast, a co-op of small cities that had banded together to operate as one larger city.
O’Bryan eventually moved to full-time police work there, but after about a year-and-a-half, the mayors of the two cities began to experience conflicts that couldn’t be resolved, causing a split in the co-op. O’Bryan took this opportunity to move to Pilot Point, where he worked until 2022.
Since then, O’Bryan has been doing civilian work and working as a School Security Officer for Denton ISD. When a mutual friend told O’Bryan that Scott was looking for some help in Whitesboro, O’Bryan was interested.
“With my experience at Denton ISD, I knew this was something I could do,” O’Bryan said.
In March, the two began discussing the possibility of O’Bryan becoming a Reserve Officer for WISD. After much thought, O’Bryan decided to pursue the opportunity.
As a WISD Reserve Officer, O’Bryan will mainly work wherever he’s needed, like high school varsity football games and volleyball games. There’s a possibility that the school district may add a full-time position in the future.
“I’m happy to be here,” O’Bryan said. “I grew up around Whitesboro, I have friends there. It feels like home. I feel good about the position. [Chief Scott] is really positive to work with, and he has realistic expectations of his officers. It’s a good environment to be in.”
