The lockdown warning blared through classrooms across campus on the morning of Feb. 5. Even though it turned out to be a false alarm, students and staff diligently followed protocol and locked down in their rooms. During the coordinated chaos, the security team sprung into action, hiding stray students and sweeping the building for threats.
Among the response team was AAU basketball coach and campus security guard Je’Rel Davis.
“During a lockdown every security guard has an area,” Davis said. “My area is the NGC second and third floors. I take any lingering kids near the bathrooms, and I lock them in the bathrooms, and if I find any more kids wandering around I lock them in the nearest classroom.”
Ultimately there was no threat to school safety, but the disciplined response from Davis and the rest of the security team indicated that the safety measures in place were implemented successfully.
Outside of drills, Davis’s day has a consistent routine.
“I start my day off by doing bus duties at 7:45 a.m… after that we walk and we check all the doors in the whole high school,” Davis said.
The high school has over 80 exterior doors, and every single one needs to be locked at all times. Each security guard has a section of doors they’re responsible for checking.
“My area is the NGC rotunda and cafeteria, robotics, the PE gym, and the fine arts building… and if we have extra time we try to double check [the doors] too,” Davis said.
Some students try to take advantage of the bathrooms’ lack of supervision, which is why Davis spends much of his day patrolling, and in some cases locking, bathrooms.
“We check bathrooms every 30 minutes,” Davis said. “We try to stay on our feet as much as we can.”
On top of that, Davis listed a plethora of other daily tasks that often fall under his responsibility such as handling parking tickets and checking the anonymous tip app Westlake Watch.
Beyond Westlake, Davis spends a lot of time coaching his youth basketball team named Heal Elite.
“I’m a full time basketball coach…” Davis said. “We practice twice a week, we train twice a week, we play every other weekend. We go year round… It’s a full time gig.”
Davis has been coaching select basketball in the Westlake community for years, allowing many students to build a relationship with him both at school and on the court.
“My favorite part of my job is watching these guys grow,” Davis said. “A lot of these kids I’ve seen grow since first grade and now I’m watching them become adults… all you guys have something special and unique about each other, and to see y’all mature in your own way is a beautiful thing to see.”
