From 'Ticket-Tron' to retired

NORWALK — Jim Fulton was more than just a cop. When Fulton's shift ended, his work didn't stop. "I remember he would arrest people for drugs, and, after that, he would pick them up at their house and take them to treatment," said Dave Light, Norwalk's mayor and the city's former police chief. "He was quite a guy." Fulton, who has served as a captain and chief executive officer during the last five years, retired from the Norwalk Police Department on Friday. A gathering took place in Fulton's honor, in which all five police chiefs he served under — Mike Ruggles, Kevin Cashen, Light, Mike Conney and Dave Smith — attended Also in attendance were Milan police Chief Bob Meister and New London police Chief Joe Hicks; Jim's dad, Jim Sr.; Jim's wife, Jennifer; Jim's daughter, Jordan; and Jim's son, Justin, who is a sergeant with Norwalk police. It was a good day for Fulton, who spent most of his career as a detective with the department. "I want to be the first to say congratulations, Jim, what a hell of a career," Dave Smith said. Fulton started in 1988 as an auxiliary officer. He became a reserve officer in 1990. He was hired full-time as a patrolman in 1992 and was a detective for 20 years from 1998 to 2018. He became a captain in 2018 when he became an executive officer for Conney. He also was an original member of the department's special response team. "I worked with a whole bunch of good people over the years," Fulton said. "We have always been blessed around here to have good judges, good training and good leadership." So what's next for him? "I'm going to take about two months off then decide what job I want to take. I will do something, at least part-time," the 65-year-old Fulton added. Fulton's career took off when he met Ruggles at the gym, and the police chief at the time gave him an application to fill out. When he started his nickname was given the name "Ticket-Tron" by Bill Braker because he gave out so many tickets. "It goes by pretty quick. It's been great," Fulton said.