Navy Veteran Is A True Lifesaver at KCPD
Post Navy, administering EKGs and taking blood pressure at a hospital fit the bill for Nate Harper until his wife suggested something that stirred excitement: KCPD’s Citizens Police Academy.
She bet that Harper would love what he saw.
“I think after the third class, I was ’Oh, I'm totally doing this,’’ Harper recalled. “I liked the idea of getting back into a uniform, getting back into helping out people, and using my skills that I had learned.”
His skillset was long. Harper was a lifeguard at Oceans of Fun, an Eagle Scout, and a Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd class, flying in helicopters in search and rescue missions. For eight years, Harper served in the Navy, stationed in Japan, deployed to Kuwait and Croatia. When rescue swimmers would pull people out of the water, Harper tended to them as a flight medic.
Harper’s path to service began at home. His father was his First Aid Merit Badge counselor in the Boy Scouts and a Navy veteran. Service was therefore always center. Now at KCPD for seven years, Harper serves at North Patrol Division. In his time at the department, he has earned three Life-Saving awards. One was for rescuing a 15-month-old who had drowned. All three people he saved suffered medical emergencies.
“I just love being able to help people,” Harper said. “That CPR call that I did on an infant, I went from that CPR call to a call for shoplifting. Each day is different here. It’s kind of neat because anything’s possible.”
As the largest police department in the region, KCPD provides officers with the most variety and specialized units. There are many ways veterans can use their military experience and training.
“There’s the camaraderie and the brotherhood,” Harper said. “But also having a spot that they (veterans) can use a special skill that they learned in the military and still be of service to their community. I think a lot of guys get out, and then they're kind of lost. You lose that sense of self. When I joined up, within my first couple of months, I was doing CPR on an infant and saving lives. You're able to use some of those unique skills here.”
KCPD has police officer openings. Apply here.