Officer Colton Pekarski started his new role as Director of Security for Beachwood Schools on April 3. 

Officer Pekarski is 29 years old. He enjoys traveling and spending time with family and friends. 

He explained what drew him to a career in law enforcement. 

“I enjoy helping people, so I wanted to be able to help my community… by protecting them and also being there for them when they needed me,” he said.

Pekarski has worked in law enforcement for five and a half years, and this new position is his first time changing his direction in law enforcement. For the last two years, he has worked as a patrol officer in the Beachwood Police Department.

Superintendent Dr. Bob Hardis explained in an email how Pekarski was hired.  

“He applied for this position when the Beachwood Police Department posted it internally among their officers, then interviewed for the position and was selected with approval from the District,” he wrote. 

Pekarski explained why he applied for the Director of Security position. 

“I saw it as an opportunity to forge relationships between the Police Department and the community,” he said.

Officer Pekarski also feels that school safety is critical.

“Student safety is a very important thing, especially with the current events that are occurring,” he said.

Pekarski hopes that all the students feel safe. 

“I want to build a positive relationship between the students and the Beachwood Police Department,” he said. 

He believes that Beachwood schools are relatively safe compared to other schools.

“I think that we’ve already implemented a lot of the most current strategies for crime prevention at our schools,” he said. “We also have all of our schools fully staffed with a Beachwood police officer.” 

Pekarski has lived in Ohio his entire life and currently resides in Beachwood. He graduated from Lakeview High School in 2012.

He graduated from the University of Cincinnati with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in criminal justice. 

Officer Pekarski is replacing the previous Director of Security Officer C.J. Piro. 

Piro’s departure from his position was a shock to many in the Beachwood community when it was announced via an Email from Hardis on Feb. 21. Piro had held the position since the district first teamed with the Beachwood Police Dept. in 2015. According to the Email from Hardis, he is continuing to work as a patrolman with the City of Beachwood.