Photo courtesy of Kurt Erkkila Officer Steve Eskola, an August graduate of NMU’s police academy, is a new addition to the Laurium Police Dept.

LAURIUM – The Laurium Village Police Department welcomed a new officer to the force in September. Officer Steve Eskola, a Laurium native and graduate of Calumet High School, completed his training at Northern Michigan University’s Regional Police Academy on Aug. 15. He is also a firefighter with the Laurium Fire Department.

Laurium Police Chief Kurt Erkkila said Eskola attended the academy on a grant through the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES). Upon graduation, he was hired to the Laurium Police Department, where he completed his field training.

Actually, said Erkkila, Eskola began his field training even before entering the academy as Eskola had earlier expressed an interest in entering law enforcement. “He rode along with us,” said Erkkila. “He did some training prior to entering the academy once we decided we would hire him after graduation.”

Eskola was previously in sales with a local corporation, said Erkkila, but the amount of travel compelled him to be away from home and family too frequently.

“Steve is a family man and truly community-oriented,” Erkkila said. “Living in the village, being on the fire department, now an officer – he really feels attached to Laurium.”

Erkilla said with the addition of Eskola his department now has three full-time officers. “We’re staffed now,” he said. “That’s what we’re budgeted for.”

Erkkila said he would prefer an additional part-time officer, but the cost of sending a candidate to the police academy is currently prohibitive, but he said he is happy that Eskola is now on the force.

“We’d go nights without a car on patrol until Steve graduated, completed his field training, and was on his own,” Errkila said.