Acting Chief Sam Olson of the BLPD has been working with the police department for more than twenty years, but is still excited to protect his hometown community every day.

Olson graduated from Big Lake high school and still lives in the area with his wife and family.

Olson says he’s wanted to be a police officer for as long as he can remember. Right after he graduated high school, he attended Willmar Community College to pursue his associate degree in law enforcement. He finished his schooling at North Hennepin Community College in 2003.

In 2001, as he was working on his degree, Olson got a head start on his career by signing on as a firefighter and as a reserve police officer.

In 2003 Olson was hired on as a full time officer, and has never once wanted to leave his hometown department, even when opportunities presented themselves. 

“I love Big Lake,” Olson said. “This is where I started my career, and this is where I want to end my career.”

Olson hopes to become Big Lake’s permanent police chief, and has given his application to the city. The application period will close Monday, and the city council will render its decision sometime this summer, possibly at the beginning of July, Olson thought. 

If Olson became the new chief, he says he would like to bring back the reserve program that gave him his start in the department. Five of the officers currently serving in the BLPD came from that reserve program, so Olson has seen firsthand how it can turn out quality officers, and can be an excellent tool for recruitment. 

Olson said he’d also like to continue offering training opportunities to the officers, in order to make sure the police are best prepared to protect the community. The Big Lake community really shows its support for the department every day, and so Olson wants to continue to lead his department in learning and training, so they continue to live up to the community’s high expectations.

For now, as acting chief, Olson is keeping things status quo and getting ready for a transition when the new chief is found.