Groundbreaking Enfield Patrolman Retiring After 3 Decades Of Service

ENFIELD, CT — Three decades after becoming a trailblazer with the Enfield Police Department, Eddie Nuno is calling it a career Friday - a career marked by his incredible dedication to public service.

Upon his hiring by then-chief Herbert Foy on Jan. 10, 1993, the affable Nuno became the first Hispanic officer to serve on the Enfield police force. He was a patrolman for the majority of that time, and many new recruits were assigned to him as a field training officer (FTO) during his tenure. Some of those trainees have gone on to exemplary careers in law enforcement, including some who are now Nuno's supervisors.

Lt. Bryan Nolan started his career with Nuno as his FTO, and ironically is now the veteran officer's boss.

"Each lieutenant has a desk officer, so now I work five days a week with Eddie," Nolan said. "He can talk to anyone and make them feel at ease. He is the epitome of community policing."

"When you train them, they're what you helped create, right for the department," Nuno said in an interview with Patch Thursday. "So when they move up, you're like, we did well, this is proof we did well, or they're here until retirement or another agency takes them."

One officer Nuno helped train is now a captain in another New England state.

"When he left, he actually said, 'Thank you for helping me out,'" Nuno recalled. "And he was the only one that said that. But nonetheless, you don't have to say thank you to me. I'm just glad to see you flourish, and that makes me happy in itself."

Capt. Steve Kaselouskas started with the department at the same time as Nuno.

"He is one of the greatest, most genuine human beings you could ask for," Kaselouskas said. "Our community should be honored and very thankful for the service he provided. Such a good person, always full of humor and just wanting to help and do the best job he could do for our community. I am better for knowing him."

Chief Alaric Fox said, "Officer Nuno served the town of Enfield with pride and with great humor for the past 30 years. We are eternally grateful for his service, and wish him the best of luck in the next chapter in his life."

Most of Nuno's career was spent patrolling the streets. About half of that time was on the second shift, mainly 4 p.m. to midnight.

"That was our busiest shift, especially in the summertime, where you basically go to call after call after call," he said. "If you really want to interact with the general public, you've got to be on patrol in the uniform. The uniform is an icebreaker when you have somebody having a hard time and they see you and he's a complete stranger."

A major change in the landscape of town during Nuno's career has been the epidemic of heroin and fentanyl.

"When I first started, summers were busy, spring was busy, but then when winter came, it slowed down," he said. "It was cold, people would stay home indoors, crime went down because they weren't outside on the street. But since fentanyl hit, it does not stop there on the street, and it continues, and it's pretty rough."

For more than 20 years, the youngest son of Mexican parents, who grew up in Arizona, was the only officer of Hispanic descent in Enfield. A few others have signed on since then, with three currently on the roster.

Since the recent retirement of Officer Ed Kaczmarek, Nuno has been the bearer of Badge No. 1, carried by the longest-tenured patrol officer in the department. He will yield that badge to Officer Mark Rochette, and his departure will leave a huge void.

"I just hope I made some type of impact with my fellow officers, so that they saw me communicating with somebody in a positive manner," he said. "I try to do that every day, everywhere I go. My whole life, I've been a servant. And I enjoy it. I love it. I think God made me for that."