Switching careers midstream from future doctor to police officer may seem like a huge leap, but no one in Dillon Chaloupek’s family was really surprised.

That’s because Kingfisher Police Department’s newest patrolman is the son of longtime Blaine County Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Jim Chaloupek.

“I spent my first two years at Southwestern (Oklahoma State University) in pre-med, but I think law enforcement may always have been at the back of my mind,” Chaloupek said.

The son of Jim and Debbie Chaloupek of Canton, Chaloupek is a 2015 graduate of Canton High School.

He will complete a bachelor’s degree in parks and wildlife law enforcement at SWOSU in May, which also includes certification by the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, required for all KPD officers.

He and his wife Brianna, who is working on her early childhood education degree at SWOSU, are in the process of buying a home in Kingfisher.

Chaloupek, whose first day on the job was Monday, will spend 14 weeks in training under the supervision of a rotation of seasoned training officers before he starts solo patrols.