After months of reorganization and working short-handed, the Dickinson Police Department is fully staffed again, with the addition of Nigel Sims.
Sims is a Seattle transplant who came to Dickinson about four years ago to attend Dickinson State University. He played basketball for the Blue Hawks, graduated in December and joined the department on March 9.
Sims studied history during college, but said he had planned to pursue a career in law enforcement.
"It was one thing I could always see myself doing," he said. "When I think of an officer it's someone who is willing to sacrifice things from themselves to help others and that's something that's always kind of attracted me to being a police officer."
Sims has not gone to the law enforcement academy, so he is going through field training.
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"It's pretty intimidating because you want to be professional and you want to have that presence that others feel like you know what you are doing and what you're talking about," Sims said.
He was in the Coast Guard for four years and has had some firearms training.
Sgt. Dan Brown has worked with Sims and said he has no doubt that Sims will be successful.
"He picked it up pretty quick," Brown said of firearms training. "You could tell that he had some training."
Sims said Dickinson grew on him.
"I've grown up in nothing but huge cities and this is really my first taste of a small city and I'm really enjoying it," Sims said. "People are really friendly."
He hopes to stick around for a long time.
"I really like the department, everyone here is really open and friendly and they're willing to help," Sims said. "It's like a tight-knit family and I feel really comfortable that I know that we have each others' back -- and that comes from me, the bottom guy, all the way from the top. That's really important in this field of work."
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Sims said he likes what he's learned about being a patrol officer and wouldn't mind being on patrol for years to come. However, he is interested in looking into specialized fields.
"It would be nice to get a little taste of everything," Sims said. "I just want to be a good officer -- be the best I can be, and someone that the community can trust."
