James Marcinko, who came from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Police, was sworn into the Ohio University Police Department on Oct. 30.
Marcinko said he chose to become an officer because he has a passion of helping people.
“I just wanted to try and help people and make the world a better place,” Marcinko said. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”
OUPD Lt. Tim Ryan said Marcinko attended classes at OU Lancaster before earning a degree from DeVry University. Marcinko will start out on the field training and evaluation program, where he will learn the job over the next three months.
“We are excited to welcome Ofc. Marcinko to OUPD,” Ryan said in an email. “He brings relevant experience from his work at the Shawnee Hills Police Department, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Police Department, and as an MP in the National Guard.”
Marcinko said he often works night shifts with OUPD. He used to work night shifts with Veterans Affairs but said Athens is different.
“It’s definitely different here because there are more people,” Marcinko said. “It’s funny. I come from a place where there are no people, and then now there are people everywhere, all hours of the night. Until like 5 o’clock in the morning there is somebody up and walking around and doing something. It’s amazing. When do you kids sleep?”
Having worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Police, Marcinko said he enjoyed his job, but wanted to come to OU to focus on helping a different audience.
“I heard they were hiring down here, and I did a little research into the department and have found a lot of good things,” Marcinko said. “That’s what drew me here.”
Marcinko said he chose to come to OU because he believes he can help more people than he would working for the federal government.
“The federal government has a lot of rules and regulations, and I’ve enjoyed my time when I was working for the state,” he said. “I like to be able to help people. I feel like I can do this more here than with the federal government.”
