Officer Chad Tucker, 27, was hired as a full-time officer last week, after two years of working part time.

Cedar Springs Police Chief Roger Parent, left, and new full-time officer Chad Tucker. Post photo by J. Reed.

According to Cedar Springs Police Chief Roger Parent, the position opened up due to the departure of Officer Jason Schaefer. Parent said that Tucker already has been working full-time to fill in the gap. “He’s been a part time officer, and he deserves the full time position,” commented Parent. “We’ve been well-pleased with him.”

Officer Tucker went to school in Cedar Springs from kindergarten through 12th grade, and graduated in 2001. He graduated from the police academy at Grand Rapids Community College at the end of 2007. He’s worked part-time for Cedar Springs for two years.

Tucker said he wanted to become a police officer because he liked the idea of doing something different every day. “It’s exciting to work here. I’m familiar with the area, and it’s not repetitive,” he explained.

Being a police officer turned out to be a lot different than he thought it would be. “It’s more challenging. Cedar Springs is busier than I thought it would be,” noted Tucker. “It’s not different in a bad way, just different. They can only teach you so much in the academy.”

Officer Tucker had some advice for anyone considering law enforcement. “It’s a rewarding career, but you have to be willing to tough out the economic issues,” he said.

Parent said that they hired another part-time officer, Nicholas Barbour, 27, to fill the position left open by Tucker. Barbour had been working for the police department in Carson City.