In his 17 years at the Cole County Sheriff's Department, Lt. Aaron Bollinger has held just about every position in the department.
Currently the commander over support services, Bollinger started as a jailer, quickly moved to road deputy, then investigator, narcotics investigator, road sergeant then detective sergeant.
"That detective sergeant position was interesting, but when you are busy with a wife and little ones, I'm grateful to be in my current position," he said. "It's a lot more consistent in time when you come in and go home."
For the last year and a half, Bollinger has been commander of the support services division of the sheriff's department. The California, Mo., native has 20 people working under him responsible for serving subpoenas, exparte and other civil documents.
"We average serving 36,000 documents a year," he said.
"We're in the top five in the state, and with all the state offices in the county that's a big part of having those high numbers."
Bollinger's division also manages the sex offender and conceal and carry programs, performing background checks before the sheriff approves or denies applications for conceal and carry.
In his time on the job, one incident stands out.
While working as a road deputy in 2002 in the Marion area, Bollinger was trying to serve an arrest warrant, and while attempting to take the wanted man into custody, the man fled.
"I tackled him on 179 in the middle of Marion," he said. "He got up and kept going, heading into woods, the train tracks, and I told myself, "If I can't see him in woods, I'm going to stop the pursuit.' It was really hot, I think July, and the leaves on the trees were in full bloom. I managed to see him still moving, so I continued, and when he saw I wasn't going to give up, he just gave up, so I took him into custody.
"As I was taking him back to the car I noticed my hand began to really ache and hurt, and later it turned out I'd broken my hand when I tried to tackle him on the road. It just goes to show that adrenaline does work."
Bollinger said he got into law enforcement as a way to help people and try and make a difference.
"We still find qualified people, but have noticed a drop in the last few years in how many are applying," he said. "It seems like a big thing is money. You know you won't get rich when you get into this field, so you'd better love your job. If you don't like it, you're not going to last. I don't care how much money you make.
"In three years I'll have 20 years in the department, and I'm pretty happy doing what I'm doing. We have good people, and this is a good department."