Dear Sheriff Babeu,

I would like to thank your office for the phenomenal job they performed during our Copper Basin lockdown on February 24, 2009. It is my understanding that Cpl. Porras, Badge #1128, was in charge of safely and expeditiously apprehending the suspect. I truly appreciate, on behalf of the Copper Basin students and staff, his leadership and tenacity during this pursuit.

At the onset of this criminal activity, Cpl. Porras communicated the situation to our SRO, Officer Martinez, who immediately notified the administration so that we could move into a lockdown. During the lockdown, your deputies, under Cpl. Porras' direction, secured the perimeter of our school, had the dogs search the premises, and kept Deputy Martinez informed of all pertinent information.

I cannot express to you how comforting it was for me personally, as I walked through the hallways to visibly see the Sheriff's cars on all sides of our school. As you can imagine, keeping 1000 children and 80 staff members safe and secure during these unfortunate events is a tad stressful! Cpl. Porras' leadership and direction made a difficult situation much easier for all of us involved.

Please relay our thanks and admiration to your staff for a job well done. This is the second lockdown we have had in two weeks. Hopefully, it's the last one for a long while, but it is comforting to know that Pinal County's finest keeps the safety of our children as their number one priority.

Sincerely,

Joanne M. Pike,
Principal
Copper Basin K-8