From chief to scholar –– a non-traditional success story
Adam Radzimirski ’09
Most college graduates dream of earning their degree, landing a job in their field, then advancing up the ladder of success –– in that order.
Not Adam Radzimirski. He has taken a modified ‘Benjamin Button’ approach to his career.
As a non traditional student on a 10-year education odyssey, Radzimirski has only just begun to feel the pride and elation much younger graduates experience upon completing their degrees.
“I think of all those evenings and weekends in class or studying,” Radzimirski says of his long road to graduation. “Trying to fit it all in with a full-time career.” Last May, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Justice and Law Administration (JLA), earning all A’s and summa cum laude status.
But his academic record is only his most recent accomplishment. Starting out as a patrol officer in 1983, he was promoted to sergeant, lieutenant, then captain in the Bridgeport Police Department (BPD). In 2003, named Commander of Special Operations, he oversaw the Tactical Narcotics Team, Motorcycle Unit, Traffic Division, Harbor Unit, SCUBA Team, Mounted Unit and the Emergency Services Unit –– a division Radzimirski himself organized. Two years ago, he was named deputy chief of BPD Investigative and Special Services.
“Adam is an experienced police executive who understands what officers have to deal with on a regular basis,” says Assistant Professor of JLA Dr. Anthony Markert. “He’s also a justice-and-law-curriculum scholar, a researcher who understands the contemporary literature on policing and public administration.”
As it happens, Radzimirski came to police work after an unexpected twist in an earlier career. “I was an air-traffic controller in my 20s. Another one of those low-stress jobs,” he says wryly. That was in 1983, when the controllers went on strike for better pay. “Two days after we walked off the job, President Reagan fired us all. I had to decide pretty quickly what else I wanted to do in life.”
Turns out he made the right choice.
At first it was because he figured there would always be jobs in law enforcement, so he applied to the force and was hired. What he hadn’t realized was how interesting he would find the job or how rich with advancement opportunities his chosen field would prove to be — especially for someone like Radzimirski, whose work ethic is so strong.
“I love it,” he says about the diversity of duties, experiences and people he’s encountered over the years. “It’s probably the most interesting and rewarding career you can have. You get a perspective on life that you wouldn’t otherwise have. You see people at their very best and very worst.”
As deputy chief of Investigative and Special Services, Radzimirski’s office is responsible for everything from implementing Port of Bridgeport security response protocols to obtaining and administering federal grants for causes such as port security and drug enforcement.
“Adam Radzimirski is the quintessential non trad student,” says Associate Professor of JLA Dr. Michael Foley. “His ability to gracefully juggle a demanding full-time career with his studies reflects his tenacity, his commitment and intellectual acumen. He makes us all proud.”
Not only have these qualities driven him toward success, they have also informed his propensity for developing opportunities that help others interested in law enforcement careers. In the last three years, Radzimirski has provided JLA students with a valuable ‘leg up’ in the field by coordinating a number of internships through the BPD.
“We've had about a dozen students complete structured internships and every one of them has said it’s been an amazing experience,” says Professor of JLA Dr. Casey Jordan.
Under the mentorship of a BPD officer, students participate in a wide variety of activities. “They work in the detective unit, or with the narcotics squad, computer researchers, field training officers, harbor patrol –– even the SCUBA team,” Jordan says. “These internships have become the hottest practicum opportunity for many of our JLA students. But Adam is not only a major asset as a community partner in the JLA practicum program, he's a tremendous overall credit to WCSU.”
Radzimirski seems a little embarrassed by this praise from his teachers, so he heads it off by talking about how it’s a privilege to mentor students entering this field, and about the value of opportunity that opens through education.
“Giving these students a solid introduction to what they’ll encounter going forward is important,” he explains. “It’s real-life preparation for the very real world of police work.”
