A new Chieftain was added to our tribe, as students and staff welcomed our new resource officer, Gabriel Aceti.

Aceti is new to Utica, but is definitely not new to the police force.

“I have been with the Shelby Township Police Department since 2005,” Aceti said.

He immediately fell in love with the work he was doing.

“Working [at Shelby PD] was my first police job,” Aceti said. “I’ve been with the department ever since.”

While growing up, being a police officer wasn’t his original plan.
“I didn’t even consider becoming a police officer until my junior year of college,” Aceti said. “One of my roommates at the time, his father was a state trooper in Michigan and he was planning to go into the criminal justice route, and it sounded interesting to me.”

Another reason adding to Aceti’s interest of criminal justice was a tragedy.

“I don’t know if you guys have heard about the Columbine High School tragedy that happened my freshman year of college,” Aceti said. “That was the first one I remembered to make national news and national headlines. That kind of got me thinking maybe if someone was there for those kids, that things would have been different and the outcome could’ve been better than it was.”

This is Aceti’s second time as a school resource officer.

“I did the school resource position at Eisenhower High School from 2006 to 2009,” Aceti said, “and I just really loved it. It was a nice change of pace.”

Before Aceti became a school resource officer, he did road patrol.

“It was different from doing road patrol all the time,” Aceti said, “and dealing with all the activities that go along with that.”

Aceti enjoyed his previous work at Ike.

“I really enjoyed the interaction with the students,” Aceti said, “getting to know the kids at Eisenhower and answering any questions they had.”

Officer Aceti was hired after Officer Leslie retired.

“When this position became available,” Aceti said, “the department put out a bulletin that it was available and anyone that was interested could apply for it. I was one of the ones that applied for it because I like the work and I enjoy doing it. I had to do an interview as well as the police department to see who they wanted to fill that job, and I was just lucky
enough to get it.”

Aceti seems to enjoy his new environment.

“I’m very impressed with this building, from the facility to the students,” Aceti said. “There is a real sense of community you guys have here. The facility is very professional and very
knowledgeable.”

Principal Tim Youngblood thinks Aceti is perfect for the job.

“I want to make sure he gets out there and meet the kids as much as he can,” Youngblood
said.

Aceti especially likes Utica’s tight-knit feel.

“I think the thing that impresses me the most so far is the students,” Aceti said. “You guys seem to get along. It’s like a big happy family here and I really like that.”

Before Aceti started the job, he had to go through a little bit of training.

“Officer Leslie went through her day-to-day operations and what she did at the school: the way she handled certain situations and certain encounters, the spots to keep an eye on like the exterior doors around the school that tend to be left open, it could be a security breach where people could gain access to the school.”

Aceti has made his way around to meet most teachers and
talk to students.

“I’m really getting to know the teachers, faculty, and students. I talked to Mr. Zalewski’s class the other day. I answered questions from the kids about rights, laws, and things of that nature,” Aceti said. “I was glad I was able to give a little unique insight from the laws portion of the perspective. I just plan to carry that on, and be able to help you guys on and enhance your education here, and answer any questions you may have.”

Officer Gabriel Aceti can be found in his office for any questions or problems student might have, and he encourages everyone to stop in and say hello.

“When this position became available,” Aceti said, “the department put out a bulletin that it was available and anyone that was interested could apply for it. I was one of the ones that applied for it because I like the work and I enjoy doing it. I had to do an interview as well as the police department to see who they wanted to fill that job, and I was just lucky enough to get it.”
Aceti seems to enjoy his new environment.

“I’m very impressed with this building, from the facility to the students,” Aceti said. “There is a real sense of community you guys have here. The facility is very professional and very
knowledgeable.”

Principal Tim Youngblood thinks Aceti is perfect for the job.

“I want to make sure he gets out there and meet the kids as much as he can,” Youngblood
said.

Aceti especially likes Utica’s tight-knit feel.

“I think the thing that impresses me themost so far is the students,” Aceti said. “You guys seem to get along. It’s like a big happy family here and I really like that.”

Before Aceti started the job, he had to go through a little bit of training.

“Officer Leslie went through her day-to-day operations and what she did at the school:

the way she handled certain situations and certain encounters, the spots to keep an eye on like the exterior doors around the school that tend to be left open, it could be a security breach where people could gain access to the school.”

Aceti has made his way around to meet most teachers and talk to students.
“I’m really getting to know the teachers, faculty, and students. I talked to Mr. Zalewski’s class the other day. I answered questions from the kids about rights, laws, and things of that nature,” Aceti said. “I was glad I was able to give a little unique insight from the laws portion of the perspective. I just plan to carry that on, and be able to help you guys on and enhance your education here, and answer any questions you may have.”

Officer Gabriel Aceti can be found in his office for any questions or problems student might have, and he encourages everyone to stop in and say hello.