With teens pledging not to text and drive, Grant High cop gets mohawk

An eight-year veteran of the Fox Lake Police Department, officer Russell Zander wanted to make his mark as the new resource officer at Grant High School.

Turns out, he did it with his hair.

Making good on a promise to students and staffers, Zander got his hair styled into a mohawk Wednesday morning and then had it dyed red — to match the school color.

“I think I wear it pretty well,” Zander said. “The red really (stands) out.”

The stunt was part of a promotion to battle texting and driving. Zander agreed to get the radical hairdo if at least 500 students and teachers signed pledges promising not to text while behind the wheel.

The response was overwhelming.

“I had 470 after the first day,” Zander said. “It really got a lot more support than I thought it would.”

By the end of the promotion, about 850 people made the pledge.

Zander usually shaves his head bald, so he spent about five weeks growing his hair for the mohawk.

A stylist from a Lakemoor salon sheared Zander’s scalp while people watched in the school’s commons area.

“I’ll tell you, the kids thought it was the greatest thing ever,” he said.

Zander said he’ll keep the hairstyle until after Fox Lake’s Polar Plunge this Sunday, in which he’s participating.