CONGRATULATIONS CHIEF KUCIREK

Amherst – Surrounded by family, friends and colleagues, Joseph Kucirek went from being a Lieutenant to the Chief of the Amherst Police Department in a matter of minutes last Saturday at noon. Although the swearing in by Amherst Mayor David Taylor only took 2 minutes the road to the ceremony took much longer.

Kucirek began his career as a Police Officer with the Amherst Police Department in 1989 as a Patrolman. Just four years later he jumped to Sergeant and in 2001 he was promoted to Lieutenant.

Although there was no history of law enforcement in the Kucirek family, the new Chief said there were plenty of Officers around to help influence him. “My Dad always had a bunch of Policemen as friends. Many from Lorain, especially the ones that were golfers because my Dad was a golf pro and they would go on golfing trips to Florida – so they were always around. I really admired them and the work that they did so I decided that was what I wanted to do early on. Now my Dad was slightly disappointed because of the money I would be making instead of becoming a pro golfer where I could have made a couple hundred thousand dollars by winning one tournament. But I knew Police work was what I wanted to do.”

Through the years Kucirek has been involved in just about every aspect of the Police Department. He has been a member of the SWAT TEAM and Drug Task Force. He said that he is grateful to have had so many opportunities afforded to him with the department. “I’ve gone to the FBI Academy and so many other training schools all over the United States and have learned so much and met so many people. My plan is to take those experiences and call on the people I have met to draw on their experiences. Networking is very important to this job and to this Department. I honestly believe that if we don’t network with people outside of the City, if we just stick with our own we’re not going to go anywhere. So I’ll be calling on those resources to help benefit our Department.”

As much as he said he will miss the time working with the Detectives and SWAT he is ready to move onto the next challenge – running the Department. But for those who think he will be rotting away behind his desk you can think again. Not too long ago Kucirek had to dig into his closet and dust off the old uniform as he hit the road to cover for a Sergeant on a night shift. He said that will be happening again. “Working that shift was interesting. I had to have someone come out and show me all the electronic stuff in the car. The last time I was working in a patrol car we didn’t have the video cameras or computers, it had been a long time. It was an eye opening experience so yes I hope to get out and do that more.”

Kucirek said he is looking forward to the next chapter in his Police career and to all of the challenges ahead of him. When asked if he ever regrets not chasing the golf dream and becoming the Chi Chi Rodriquez making tons of money in tournaments he quickly answers; “No, not at all. I’m right where I want to be.”


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