Months before he was arrested and charged with two counts of disorderly conduct and one of simple assault for allegedly activating his taser at a Tiverton High School assembly and sporting event last fall, Tiverton police officer Jacob Rapoza, the school's former resource officer, had lost the confidence and trust of several staff members, including the principal, a heavily redacted summons report released by the Tiverton Police Department Friday reveals.

The report also details newly-public allegations apart from the two alleged taser discharges last fall. Officers investigating Rapoza's conduct learned that it was well-known by staff that Rapoza had a cot in his office and would often sleep on the job for one or two hours per day, and was questioned multiple times about his habit of leaving his police cruiser running for hours at a time while he worked inside the building. Invariably, staff told investigators, Rapoza would respond that he wasn't paying for the gas.

In one case, school employees alleged that Rapoza put his hand on his department-issued firearm and disengaged the safety during an undescribed "incident" in the high school courtyard. In another, police learned that during the investigation, Rapoza sent a series of texts to a staff member, asking her for information on whether she was meeting with police and what they were asking.

Taken as a whole, the officer's conduct was troublesome, several staff members told police. Principal Susan Craven, who said she was told of another taser incident in which Rapoza allegedly activated and let a student handle it during a class, told police that "she viewed Officer Rapoza as immature" and did not believe he was a "good fit" for the SRO position. Others said they were surprised by the officer's actions, or did not view him as a resource for students looking for advice or guidance. Yet, others said they had no problem with the officer, found him congenial and easy to get along with.

An e-mailed tip

The report released Friday was written by Deputy Chief James Costa about two weeks after Rapoza's March arrest, but police had begun investigating his conduct in late December, after Chief Jones received at least one e-mail regarding the officer's alleged actions.

The investigation ultimately led to his arrest on disorderly conduct and assault charges, and earlier released records indicate that the charges stemmed from two incidents:

On Tuesday, Sept. 30, before an assembly was set to begin in the library, police allege that Officer Rapoza  removed his taser, pointed it to the ground and activated it.

Investigators took statements from multiple witnesses who confirmed his actions, police wrote in their March arrest report.

One witness, a student, said she was seated about 10 feet away from Rapoza and was "startled and afraid" when he deployed the taser.

About a month later, during a football game on Friday, Oct., 21, police said Rapoza deployed the taser again. A guidance counselor, unidentified until this week, told police that he walked toward her, pulled out his taser and pointed it directly at her, activating it within feet of her. Police confirmed that the taser was deployed by downloading data from the unit.

In the redacted report released Friday, police reported that the guidance counselor, now identified as Nicole McGuire, told them that she believed Rapoza activated it as a "joke" and she didn't fear for her safety, as the two had a "joking" relationship and he did that sort of thing "all the time." Police noted that during her interview, McGuire was initially uncomfortable and told police she didn't want the officer to get in trouble.

Police later interviewed her husband, 30-year teacher Matt McGuire, who told officers that when his wife told him of the taser incident, he was angry.

"He went on to state if anyone else had done this to her it would have elicited a physical response from him," police wrote.

When asked why he didn't report the incident, McGuire acknowledged that he should have but said "he could not do anything as Officer Rapoza was a 'cop,'" and he also worried that speaking out could lead to disciplinary action against the officer, the father of a young son.

Still, McGuire told police that he believed "the school is not the best place or fit for him."

Other staff members repeated similar claims during police interviews — that they did not want to get the officer in trouble — and one worker who was asked about the cot in his office, said she feared speaking out against the officer would cost her her job.

Chief Jones, citing requirements of the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights, declined to comment on the investigation, the charges, the recently released narrative or about Rapoza in any way, except to acknowledge that the officer has remained on paid administrative leave since his arrest. Since his removal as SRO and subsequent arrest, Tiverton police have appointed another officer as SRO.

Rapoza pled not guilty to the charges and is next scheduled to appear at a pre-trial conference in Second Division District Court Thursday, May 18.

Rapoza could not be reached through his attorney Norman Landroche, who was out of the office Friday afternoon.