Newest Fort Thomas Police Officer Introduced

Officer Kalin Holland with wife Courtney and son Titus.

by Mark Collier and Robin Gee

Fort Thomas Police Chief Mike Daly introduced the department’s newest officer at the city council meeting June 5. Daly said Kalin Holland impressed him from the start with his professionalism and preparedness for the job.

Holland received two badges at the meeting, one is his regular badge, number 4450, and the other was the last of the badges specially designed for the city’s sesquicentennial celebration.

Fort Thomas Matters caught up with Holland after the badge presentation and asked him a few questions about his new position.

Fort Thomas Police Chief Daly instroduces new officer Kalin Holland

Fort Thomas Matters: Tell us a little bit about your background. Where are you from?

Kalin Holland: I grew up in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and I’ve been a transplant to the Northern Kentucky area since 2011.  It’s been fantastic. What brought me here was a job at Northern Kentucky University working in their university housing office, and I also was an academic advisor for the NKU Athletics Department.

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Why did decide to become a police officer?

I’ve always had a childhood dream of becoming an officer. I thought it over and came to a fork in the road where I could continue with higher education and move on with opportunities there or I could jump in do something radical…a bit daring, I wanted to take the little bit riskier route.

I talked it over with my wife, Courtney, and she was 100 percent behind me. Once that happened, it was a really easy decision. That’s when the ball got rolling. I’m so glad that Fort Thomas came into the picture...This is a great agency and a great city to work in.

Is this your first job as a police officer? Earning a position at the Fort Thomas Police Department must be very competitive. What was the hiring process like?

It is my first law enforcement job. I remember talking to one of the other candidates and saying "There really nothing else we can do…We've passed the tests, we've passed the psychological exams, the fitness tests. We've gone through the background checks.  At this point it's going happen or its not."

It is stressful… Law enforcement is something in which you have to have the public trust, and it’s a responsibility to make sure that people in these positions are level headed, obviously qualified, capable. You want the people you can trust to do the best for the community and the city and also make the right decisions at the right time — especially in stressful situations. So, it’s purposefully and accurately challenging.

You made it through. How do you feel now that you are a Fort Thomas officer?

To be the person selected, I’m absolutely floored! There were times when I thought this is too good to be true. I thought, they’ll call me tomorrow and say they made some kind of mistake…but now they’ve committed and I’ve committed, which is awesome.

What have you discovered about Fort Thomas?

Great community for families, awesome schools, a lot of rich history and tradition. The community is also very actively engaged, which is great to see. I think people take a lot of pride in this city.

It’s a very desirable place to live with phenomenal houses and architecture, awesome parks and with Cincinnati right there as our back drop…people can take advantage of a small, charming town and then jump in downtown Cincinnati and experience all that goes on there.

You are so tall, and you worked in athletics at NKU. Were you an athlete in college?

Yes, I’m six feet six inches…I played basketball for Western Kentucky University, where I also earned my bachelor’s and graduate degrees.

When were you there? Did you play with anyone we might recognize? What was your coolest experience playing basketball?

I played from 2001 to 2005. The person who had the best career success was Courtney Lee. He plays with the New York Knicks, played for the Grizzlies, played for Orlando. There was also Anthony Winchester, who was a great player, and Elgrace Wilborn from Tennessee. Ty Rogers won an ESPY award for hitting a shot against Drake 5 feet from the free point line in the 2008 NCAA tournament.

I’d have to say the coolest was beating UK at Rupp. 

The experience brought me into contact with phenomenal individuals, and we played all over the country.

What’s next for you?

I start at the Academy June 11, and I’ll be back in December. I can’t wait. I’m looking forward to getting to know members of the community and developing strong relationships with leadership of the department and my fellow officers.

Kalin Holland poses with fellow officers.