Olean police Capt. Ireland to retire

OLEAN Almost immediately after graduating from Olean High School in the early 1970s, Kurt Ireland found a decent job working at the former Olean Tile.

I was a laborer there running the different machines, he told the Times Herald. I worked all the shifts they offered there, and it was hard work.

The line work even with its steady pay and regular hours just wasnt enough for him.

I knew that I wanted to have a profession in something and not just a job, he said.

Thats what he ended up finding in law enforcement.

On Friday, Capt. Ireland will retire from the Olean Police Department after 36 years on the force. Hes the departments senior-most officer.

Growing up, Capt. Ireland never had any intentions of becoming a cop. But that changed after a conversation with former Olean Police Officer Joe Connelly during his fifth year at Olean Tile.

He suggested to me that I take the police test and helped me prepare, Capt. Ireland said. So I took it and scored well.

Capt. Ireland was hired along with four other officers in 1977 by former Olean Police Chief Michael Luty. His first day as a cop was Nov. 14 of that year.

He quickly learned police work is complex.

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Olean police Capt. Ireland to retire