Penn State Brandywine welcomes new campus police officer Daniel McCole

MEDIA, Pa. — Daniel McCole recently joined Penn State Brandywine’s Office of Police and Public Safety as a part-time campus police officer. McCole was sworn in on Thursday, Jan. 12.

In addition to working at Brandywine, McCole serves as a K-9 unit officer in Chester County, a position he accepted in March of 2016.

“I was lucky enough to be selected for the unit,” he said. “I traveled to Ohio for training, where I picked out my dog. We trained with the dogs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. five days a week, learning how to patrol and handle situations with explosives.”

K-9 unit officers are often called to some of the most serious threats in the region.

“We get called to every bomb threat in Chester County — and in neighboring counties, for that matter,” he said. “We’re also on call every time a department needs to track a criminal. Basically, we have to be ready when needed.”

Not all of the calls are crime-related, however. K-9 unit officers are also brought on board to serve in other capacities, such as helping families find their missing loved ones.

“We’ve taken calls for missing children,” he said. “We’ve also had calls when elderly people with Alzheimer’s wander off. We help bring them home.”

McCole has found Penn State Brandywine a peaceful and friendly environment, especially compared to his duties on his other beat.

“I actually looked forward to the change of pace when I applied here,” he said.

McCole applied for the position at Brandywine after hearing that the campus will undergo big changes in 2017 with the opening of its new student union and residence hall.

“I wanted to be part of that change,” he said. “Everyone has been so nice thus far and I’m excited to be part of campus — to learn about the community here and to see how campus policing is different than my past experiences.”

Note: McCole’s police dog, which resides with him, is not used as part of his Penn State Brandywine duties.

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