Ever since Kurt Nolan was a child, he knew he wanted to be a police
officer; having a father who is a State Trooper only fueled
that fire.
When Nolan was sworn in as a Saratoga Springs Police Officer during a July city council meeting, his goals had been met.
"You don't pick policing, it picks you. If I saw something going on, even as a civilian, I always wanted to get in there and help," he said. "In the academy, they gave us an example of this: when people hear gun shots, some people run away and some people run to it. To the people I work with, and myself, it's a duty thing, it's not an option."
While Nolan is still learning the ropes at the station, his ambitions haven't stopped just because he landed a job. His ultimate goal is to gain law credentials.
"I have always been interested in the intricacies of the law. There was a police chief at the academy who was also an attorney," Nolan said. "You have to believe in the system. People think poorly of defense attorneys because they get bad guys off on charges but really, they make us do our jobs better. When we have a case, they can say 'well Officer Nolan, you didn't do this and you should have,' and all I can do is admit my mistake and learn from it. It's all a balancing act."
Nolan added that having a law degree makes on-scene investigations easier when charging a suspect because the officer would know exactly what to charge the perpetrator with and to what degree.
"A law degree gives you so many tools to work with. You can look at a situation and know what your legal options are. When you are on the stand and they ask you your training experience, you can tell them that you are also an attorney. I want the qualifications of an attorney to apply to policing and make me do my job better," he said.
Finally being on the road is what Nolan has worked so hard for, yet being in uniform and on the street is a completely different experience than taking part in the police academy.
"It's great, actually being out there. The academy was rough but you keep telling yourself that you'll be out on the road soon. The first week was all drill instructors screaming in your face and then it's like college - sitting in class for eight hours a day," he said. "The police academy teaches you everything in your head but being on the streets teaches the reality of the job."
In order to help officers find their niche, new hires rotate shifts to make sure they experience both day and nightlife activities. Because Nolan is a new hire, he can't yet head out on the road on his own, yet in the past month he's seen a lot of what goes on behind closed doors in Saratoga Springs.
"Saratoga has a lot more going on than people realize, especially when they are talking of cutting police. Everyone thinks that Saratoga is this pristine paradise city, and it is because we are out in the dirt every day. There's a lot of stuff going on," he said. "People are paying a lot of money to live in Saratoga; they aren't going to accept a lower quality of life. That's why we are out there, and that's why the community was up in arms when the city council wanted to get rid of us. You get rid of us and our level of safety goes down."
One thing Officer Nolan wants to make clear is that police are public servants and are not something to be feared or hated.
"I choose to be a cop because I want to be a cop, not because I can't do something else like be an attorney. If I had that law degree, yeah, I could make a ton more money being a practicing attorney, but I choose to help the community instead. This is something I've always wanted to do," he said.
"You don't pick policing, it picks you. If I saw something going on, even as a civilian, I always wanted to get in there and help," he said. "In the academy, they gave us an example of this: when people hear gun shots, some people run away and some people run to it. To the people I work with, and myself, it's a duty thing, it's not an option."
While Nolan is still learning the ropes at the station, his ambitions haven't stopped just because he landed a job. His ultimate goal is to gain law credentials.
"I have always been interested in the intricacies of the law. There was a police chief at the academy who was also an attorney," Nolan said. "You have to believe in the system. People think poorly of defense attorneys because they get bad guys off on charges but really, they make us do our jobs better. When we have a case, they can say 'well Officer Nolan, you didn't do this and you should have,' and all I can do is admit my mistake and learn from it. It's all a balancing act."
Nolan added that having a law degree makes on-scene investigations easier when charging a suspect because the officer would know exactly what to charge the perpetrator with and to what degree.
"A law degree gives you so many tools to work with. You can look at a situation and know what your legal options are. When you are on the stand and they ask you your training experience, you can tell them that you are also an attorney. I want the qualifications of an attorney to apply to policing and make me do my job better," he said.
Finally being on the road is what Nolan has worked so hard for, yet being in uniform and on the street is a completely different experience than taking part in the police academy.
"It's great, actually being out there. The academy was rough but you keep telling yourself that you'll be out on the road soon. The first week was all drill instructors screaming in your face and then it's like college - sitting in class for eight hours a day," he said. "The police academy teaches you everything in your head but being on the streets teaches the reality of the job."
In order to help officers find their niche, new hires rotate shifts to make sure they experience both day and nightlife activities. Because Nolan is a new hire, he can't yet head out on the road on his own, yet in the past month he's seen a lot of what goes on behind closed doors in Saratoga Springs.
"Saratoga has a lot more going on than people realize, especially when they are talking of cutting police. Everyone thinks that Saratoga is this pristine paradise city, and it is because we are out in the dirt every day. There's a lot of stuff going on," he said. "People are paying a lot of money to live in Saratoga; they aren't going to accept a lower quality of life. That's why we are out there, and that's why the community was up in arms when the city council wanted to get rid of us. You get rid of us and our level of safety goes down."
One thing Officer Nolan wants to make clear is that police are public servants and are not something to be feared or hated.
"I choose to be a cop because I want to be a cop, not because I can't do something else like be an attorney. If I had that law degree, yeah, I could make a ton more money being a practicing attorney, but I choose to help the community instead. This is something I've always wanted to do," he said.
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