A 40-year-old man was arrested at New Hope Elementary School on Wednesday morning for impersonating a law enforcement officer while telling school officials he was “providing volunteer security.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Orange County Schools issued a joint release about the incident on Wednesday afternoon saying that the school was never put on lockdown and the situation did not interfere with the regular school day.

Officials said Christopher Hill and his girlfriend arrived at New Hope Elementary on Wednesday morning to drop off children for school.

“Both parties signed in at the kiosk in the front office, as is standard procedure when a parent or community member plans to remain on campus once school begins,” according to Wednesday’s release.

The kiosk printed visitor passes for each individual.

Symbol on front of vest. Photo via Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Hill then began walking down a hall of classrooms, according to law enforcement, while wearing tan tactical pants, a black polo shirt and a black vest, “all similar to the attire of an OCSO deputy sheriff.”

The vest had the word SHERIFF patched onto the back and had another logo patch on the front “not associated in any way with law enforcement.”

An assistant principal noticed Hill and notified the principal and School Resource Officer. Two teachers then told the SRO that Hill “told them he was providing volunteer security.” Hill was not carrying any weapons or police gear, including handcuffs or a radio.

Hill complied with the principal once he was located in the school and went to the administrative office. Authorities then placed him under arrest once he was off school grounds and out of view of students and staff, law enforcement officials said.

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said that Wednesday’s response and arrest came as a result of collaborative training efforts.

“School administration and the SRO responded quickly, acted decisively, arranged for additional resources, and made the arrest without any undue fanfare that might be alarming to elementary students,” Blackwood said in a release. “I happen to know how hard Principal Ambra Wilson and SRO Sparrow have worked day in and day out for the last several years to build trust within the New Hope School community. Today, someone threatened to undermine that trust by impersonating a law enforcement officer. Wilson and Sparrow shut that situation down immediately.”

Wilson added that a safe learning environment is critical “so that our students and teachers can thrive in an amazing environment.”

Hill is being held in the Orange County jail under a $500,000 bond and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Thursday.

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