Leechburg HS resource officer placed on leave after filing charges against student

LEECHBURG, Pa. — The school resource officer for Leechburg High School has been placed on leave following his filing of a report about an altercation between students, Channel 11 News learned Wednesday.

The report filed by Roger Kaufman alleges that a student made a weapon in wood shop class and tried to hurt others. Kaufman, who used to be a part-time police officer with the Leechburg Borough Police Department, filed criminal charges against one of the students using his old police certification number, which he didn’t have the authority to do, Channel 11’s Mike Holden reported.

Leechburg School District Superintendent Tiffany Nix confirmed that Kaufman filed the charges after a student used a tool in wood shop class to scratch one student on the neck and another student on the arm, but she said it wasn’t an attack.

"There was metal on the tool and it scratched the students,” Nix told Channel 11 News. “It was handled by the teacher and the principal and appropriate action was given."

According to school officials, Kaufman's report had a number of discrepancies, and they couldn't figure out why he filed the charges.

"The superintendent corrected the report as she found out about the inaccurate information,” the Leechburgh Borough police chief told Channel 11 News.

Holden learned that Kaufman worked as a part-time police officer up until a month ago and the he likely won’t face charges for filing the report. Calls to Kaufman for comment were not immediately returned.

Cox Media Group