XXXXXXXC. BustamantePolice OfficerXXXXXXXC. BustamanteEGL 10213 September 2008Police OfficerPolice Officer. The word alone startles even the bravest of souls. When one hears the word, they automatically think of shootings, beatings, and most of all death. But in the big picture, that does not play a huge role in determining what a police officer is. A police officer is a person who cares deeply about his community and will give anything to keep it a clean community. They go through extremely thorough training and it shows while they are on duty. Police officers are dedicated to protecting their communities with pride. Dennis Nolan was one ofthose special individuals. Dennis is currently the Chief of Public Safety here at Oakton Community College. I know Mr. Nolan through my mother who also works here at the school. I chose to interview Mr. Nolan because of the fact that hewas one of Chicago’s “Finest” and I want to be a part of that sacred brotherhood. The Chicago Police Department is one of the most respected police departments inall of the United States along with New York City and Los Angeles. Dennis is the first and only Chief of Public Safety since the college opened back in the late 1970’s. Mr. Nolan has brought a wealth of knowledge to the Public Safety Department here at Oakton and has shared that with the cadets and officers of thisinstitution. What better way than to learn about law enforcement than from a man who lived it for 13 years. Before we began our interview, I took a good look at Public Safety Headquarters. There were three TV’s on the wall; they were keeping a very broad view of every parking lot on the campus. I walked into Mr. Nolan’s office, which was rather small, with a big desk and three chairs. I sat down and got comfortable, as did he. I thanked him for giving me this opportunity to interview him on his busy schedule. He giggled and said it was no problem. My first question to Denniswas very obvious, “When did you decide to become a police officer?” He replied by saying that he had wanted to become a police officer for many years as a youngman growing up in Chicago. He would take time to talk to the cities officers asking them what it’s like to be on the job so he could get some sense of what it was like. Dennis received a good education throughout his childhood and high school. He received his criminal justice degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dennis Nolan became a member of the Chicago Police Department in 1961. He was a beat cop for many years doing his part to keep his community safe from crime. He remained a regular street patrolman until 1970 when he was promoted to sergeant. This was his rank until he retired in 1974.Dennis was a police officer 13 years with the Chicago Police Department. He explained to me that in his opinion it was the best job in the world. He spent the best 13 years of his life with the Chicago Police Department.Dennis took a deep breath before answering my next question. “What motivated you to become a police officer?” I asked with a rather serious look on my face. He answered with a light smirk and replied, “I wanted to help people.” Dennis explained he would see many people on the streets living in distress. Somepeople were homeless; some were people who had little to nothing at all, he explained, it “Broke my heart.” This is what he lived around through his childhoodyears and throughout a good part of his teenage years. He explained he wanted to be the guy that everyone could count on if they were in trouble. He wanted to be a hero to his neighborhood and the city of Chicago. My next question touched on the education part of his career. “Did you need to take any type of special schooling to become a police officer?” He took a deep breath and with that fatigued look on his face explained that he needed to pass through the Chicago Police Academy in order to be certified as policeman. Once he graduated high school, he needed to apply for what was called an acceptance examination. This test covered many different types of skills such as problem solving and teamwork. The results of this test determined whether you would be admitted to the academy or not. After he passed his exam with flying colors, he was sent to the academy for his pre-entrance physical and emotional tests. The physical part of the test covered running, pushups, sit-ups, etc. He pointed out the physical test was a piece of cake. It was the emotional test that gave him some trouble. He explained the instructors put him in some sort of interrogation room and asked him many questions in which he did not specify. Theinstructors would sometimes ask the same question twice, only wording it differently to try and confuse you. Some recruits failed to pass this test, therefore earning them a one-way ticket home. Once he passed both test sessions, it was time for recruit training to begin. My next question, in a way, perplexed Mr. Nolan. “How do you believe police as a whole have changed from your time to the present day?” He said policehave changed in the sense that officers all across the country are a lot sterner than before. He believes new and up to date training have been the key to making officers more prepared to take on the public. Dennis explained that in his time, “Police were probably the most respected group of people in any city.” Now he fearfully believes that police are now labeled as “garbage” or “punks.” His reasoning for this was that due to many scandals and the amount of corruption going on in the country’s departments, very few police officers could be trusted. However, he told this was only the negative side, there was a positive. Police departments have implemented new self-defense and weapons training courses objected for every police officer. This will greatly help them should officers ever need to defend themselves when necessary. The weapons training courses he said have greatly decreased the number of accidental shooting deaths in the U.S. Dennis believes that all departments in the United States are always trying to find ways to improve the way they handle criminals. He finally added to this, if every police officer in America just took a look a good long look at them and found away to change them for the better, police departments would have a much deeper appreciation from the public.Mr. Nolan’s face lighted up when I asked him “What was the best part
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