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March 5, 2007

Superintendent is special sheriff’s deputy

Sue Loughlin The Tribune Star Mon Mar 05, 2007, 11:36 PM EST

TERRE HAUTE — When Dan Tanoos rushed to the scene of a serious accident involving a school bus last week, he used red-and-blue police lights to help him get there more quickly.

As a Vigo County Sheriff’s Department special deputy, he was within his authority to use the flashing lights, attached to the sun visor of his school district-owned vehicle.

He was deputized by Sheriff Jon Marvel last August.

Tanoos said Wednesday’s accident was the first time he had used the emergency police lights.

“With the knowledge I had of a serious accident, I felt it was important to get there as quickly as possible,” Tanoos said. Initial reports indicated “a very bad accident” involving a drunken driver who had smashed into a school bus. Three students and a driver were on the bus.

Tanoos said he always tries to respond to school incidents in which a student or employee safety may be in question.

He didn’t use the police lights the entire time — only to get through about three intersections with red lights and to get through areas of congested traffic.

Ray Azar, director of student services, rode with him and made sure intersections were clear.

As a special deputy, Tanoos has a badge and a credential, similar to a driver’s license, that says he has been certified as a special deputy. The sheriff also issued him a .40-caliber Glock pistol to use in his capacity as a special deputy. Tanoos said he has had weapons training.

Another school-district employee, Franklin Fennell, also is a special deputy whose school district-owned vehicle has red and blue lights, Tanoos said.

“There are times where we are the first to respond to an incident,” Tanoos said.

Asked about liability concerns when acting as a special deputy, Tanoos said it has been cleared through insurance.

Tanoos said he does not always carry a weapon with him, but there are situations when he does.

When acting in his capacity as a special deputy, he could carry his Sheriff’s Department-issued Glock, he said. He suggested that would be in an extreme or dangerous circumstance, such as a school hostage situation.

The superintendent said he has had a permit to carry a weapon since January 2001, when someone shot at him while he was in his home eating dinner and a bullet grazed his head.

He has his own weapon, which he may carry (concealed) for his personal protection, depending on the situation, he said. Since the 2001 shooting, “I have to consider the safety of my family and myself,” Tanoos said.

Marvel said he doesn’t have many special deputies, and when he does deputize one, it’s for a specific purpose. He deputized Tanoos to deal with safety-related matters within the Vigo County School Corp.

“I thought he needed to have some kind of police powers … should there be an incident where he needed to get from one side of the county to another if there was something tragic going on,” Marvel said.

He said Tanoos has gone through two or three days of training and has ridden with Frank Shahadey, a sergeant with the Sheriff’s Department who is assigned to the school district. Riding with Shahadey, Tanoos learned how to go through a red light at an intersection safely during an emergency.

Marvel said it was his idea to deputize Tanoos. “I thought he should have that type of authority” to be able to respond to a school crisis and get there quickly.

As a special deputy, Tanoos would fall under Marvel’s authority as sheriff, Marvel said.

John Ellis, executive director of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, said he’s not aware of any other superintendents in Indiana who have been deputized in a similar manner.

“I don’t believe it’s common” in Indiana or other states, he said.

Someone needs to have that type of authority, Ellis said, but typically that would occur through a school-police liaison arrangement, he said.

Deputizing a superintendent “puts a higher level of responsibility and a higher burden on that person,” Ellis said.

The superintendent might be taking on additional risk in terms of liability issues, such as if someone was hurt or the superintendent— acting in a special deputy role — was hurt carrying out that authority, Ellis said.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.

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