Officer Nicholas Rich is the Cape Elizabeth Police Department’s Officer of the Year. Rich, 26, has been a police officer since January 2006. He graduated from Yarmouth High School in 2000 and from University of Southern Maine in 2004 with a degree in criminology. Last week, Rich sat down with The Current to talk about why he became a police officer, why he likes working in Cape Elizabeth and how it feels to be honored as Officer of the Year.
Q: Why did you decide to become a police officer?
A: My father was a police officer for 33 years in Portland, so it’s definitely a tradition.
Q: What do you like best about your job?
A: I like meeting people – you meet a ton of people – and getting involved in the community and working with the guys I work with. We have a great group of guys. Every day is different. You never know what to expect.
Q: What has been the most exciting thing that’s happened since you started?
A: The case of the home burglar stealing jewelry. Officer Thompson and I were fortunate enough to run into him one night. We were able to get a warrant to go into his house and recover a bunch of the jewelry. That week was pretty exciting. Everyone was running around like bees.
Q: What’s the hardest part of your job?
A: Trying to have a solution to everyone’s problem. We deal with tons of different problems, everything under the sun, from the littlest thing to the biggest thing. Everyone’s looking to you to solve it for them. It’s challenging, but it’s fun.
Q: Did you always know you wanted to be a police officer?
A: I started out as a business student at USM, but I changed my mind. My roommate was a criminology student, and I decided I’d rather study that than math and economics.
Q: What are your long-term goals?
A: I definitely want to stay in law enforcement. I’m having too much fun to think of anything else. They allows us to take other courses. Right now, I’m taking Spanish classes and other law enforcement related courses. They encourage us to do extra training. They chief really encourages continued education for the officers.
Q: Do you watch any cop shows on television?
A: Not really. I like “Rescue Me.” It’s a firefighter show. I watch the Red Sox, and I like different shows on the History Channel.
Q: Have you ever seen the movie “Super Troopers”?
A: Yeah, that’s a great movie.
Q: Is the Cape Elizabeth Police Department anything like the one in the movie?
A: Not at all. I wish it was. It’s low-key here. It’s relaxed. Everybody gets along great. We have a lot of laughs, but we all work really hard. It’s a great place to work.
Q: How does it feel to be the Officer of the Year?
A: I was surprised and honored. Everybody here works really hard, and there’s a lot of work behind the scenes that doesn’t get recognized in the newspapers, but it’s great for anyone to get recognized, and I know the other officers feel that way, too.
Nicholas Rich is the Cape Elizabeth Police Department’s Officer of the Year.
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