Medford police and the Medford School District issued a joint statement Tuesday addressing rumors that a school resource officer was removed from his post after raising safety concerns.

A flurry of social media posts appeared over the past week with community members voicing concerns that SRO Josh Doney’s reassignment — returning to patrol — was retaliatory.

Parents and teachers who spoke with the Rogue Valley Times said they believed the school district’s director of security, Ron Havniear, took issue with Dony’s challenging him about the practice of permitting students, who were expelled for bringing guns to school, back into the district sooner than district guidelines allow.

The joint statement, posted to the Medford police Facebook page, was the second from police and school district officials in less than a week. In both statements, officials said the rumors surrounding Doney are false.

“We continue to be aware of Facebook rumors circulating about the transfer of Officer Josh Doney from the School Resource Officer (SRO) position at South back to patrol. A new SRO has been assigned for South and will be announced soon,” the statement read.

“Officer Doney’s reassignment to Patrol was not disciplinary. We want to reiterate it is common for officers to be reassigned to different areas within the department.”

The statement continued, “The rumors that Officer Doney was transferred from SRO back to patrol because he voiced safety concerns that the district and the police department did not want to address are not true. Contrary to false allegations circulating on social media, the Medford Police Department and the Medford School District are leaders in responding to potential threats to students and staff.”

According to a Medford police social media post from September 2022, Doney, who has been in law enforcement in the Rogue Valley for 16 years, was first assigned to Medford schools the prior month.

The post indicates Doney had been appointed, at the time, to South Medford High School, Washington Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Jacksonville Elementary, Oak Grove Elementary, Griffin Creek Elementary and Ruch Outdoor Community School.

In the earlier joint statement, sent to parents and students via email July 19, police and school district officials announced that Doney had been reassigned and that a new SRO would “soon be introduced to the school community.” The earlier statement addressed rumors as well.

“We understand there have been rumors about the reason for this change. While we cannot discuss personnel matters publicly, we assure you that it is very common for officers to be reassigned to different areas within the department,” the statement read.

“The longstanding and successful SRO program has played an essential role in the safety and security of Medford School District students and continues to be one of the best programs in the state.”