His door is always open

COEUR d’ALENE — He loves the kids.

And boy, do the kids love him.

"When I am either away for a couple of days or just stuck in my office with other work, they notice," said Coeur d'Alene Police Detective Mario Rios, who works as the school resource officer at Coeur d'Alene High.

"When I finally do make my way back into the hallways or commons, nothing feels better than to hear 'RIOS!' yelled and see a smiling kid asking where I have been," he said. "I have been able to reach so many kids by simply showing I care."

Rios relates to these North Idaho kids because he was a North Idaho kid — he attended Hayden Elementary School, Lakeland Junior and Senior high schools and he went to the Peace Officers Service Training in Meridian after he was hired by CPD in 2001. In 2017, he began working as the SRO at CHS, where he's right at home.

"I have been assigned to numerous divisions during my career and this is by far the best assignment," Rios said. "I have been in patrol, detectives and a field training officer. None of those can even compare."

He said what he loves most is his relationships with the students. The day-to-day interactions are what make his job so special.

"I get these kids at some of the best and worst moments of their lives, and they trust me with that," he said. "They come to me with everything. Sometimes I feel like I am their parent during school hours. I have five boys of my own, so what’s another 1,400?"

Kids gravitate to the charismatic and kind Rios, as evidenced by his engagement with elementary-schoolers during the summer days he participates in the Police Activities League. Ultimate Frisbee, basketball, soccer, whatever it is, Rios encourages youngsters to have good attitudes and be fair to one another through his positive role model influence.

He deeply cares about connecting with youth, and tries to know the names of all the students he encounters at CHS.

"There are students both a little rough and really good students who I have seen have a tough day, and I tell them my door is always open to talk," he said. "I don't always know if they hear it or not. But I have had several students days and even weeks after I give that offer come into my office and break down. Just planting that little seed and showing true compassion works. These are high school kids and they are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. They have to see you are real or they won't buy into it. That's where I think the students of Coeur d'Alene School District are lucky all our SROs are here because we want to be. Some agencies have a difficult time finding SROs and they have to assign officers. We don't have that problem here."

Outside of the high school, Rios stays busy patrolling and making sure people are driving safely. He's heard every excuse under the sun when he's caught people speeding.

"I have heard the bathroom excuses, the 'I'm late to whatever appointment' or late to the airport excuse. You name it," he said. "The best one, which was real — it was a local surgeon who got an emergency call to Kootenai Health. The guy definitely got a warning."

Not every stop is easy, though. Rios said he gets asked a lot if he's scared to pull someone over or answer certain calls.

"I don't know if 'scared' is the right term," he said. "Officers are not superhuman and we certainly have feelings. But many times in the right moment, you are focused on the task at hand and you don't feel fear. There are definitely times you get the little hairs on the back of your neck standing up and like everyone else, we listen to that, but I'm not sure about fear. After the fact and the call is over, that’s when you look back and think, 'That was close.'"

One of his hardest days on the job was when he was assigned to investigations and had to respond to a residence after a house fire took the life of a little girl.

"I remember the neighbors coming over and showing me a picture of that little girl," he said. "I had my own 3-year-old at the time and I remember having that feeling of, 'This could have been my kid.'"

Rios takes the good with the bad, knowing the good outweighs the bad. He has a good on/off switch to maintain a healthy work-life balance. He enjoys his time away from work, when it's his family that keeps him on his toes.

"I think I gave up all of my hobbies when I started my own basketball team of boys," he said. "I now do whatever they are interested in. Funny that baseball was never really my sport growing up, but I have spent many springs and summers coaching or watching baseball. I even got to spend a few years coaching my favorite sport, football, with my boys."