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From a 30-year law enforcement career to retirement, police Officer Rick Sprague returned to the job, not for recognition, but to ensure С��Ƭ��Ƶ students could learn in a safe environment.

“For 29 years, I always said if I could help just one person, change one life, then it’s worth it,” Rick Sprague told С��Ƭ��Ƶ Today. “Maybe here I’ll deter that one thing, that one catastrophe that could have happened.”

After retiring as an Ohio State Trooper in 2021, Rick Sprague joined С��Ƭ��Ƶ as a groundskeeper with University Facilities Management, later moving into higher positions within the department.

In spring of 2025, Rick Sprague accepted a position with the С��Ƭ��Ƶ police department, officially bringing him back on duty.

“Adapting from being a state patrol officer to working closely with students ages 18 to 22 has been interesting,” Rick Sprague said. “But I think my years of experience have helped me here because if you treat everybody the same, with respect and like an adult, you get that respect back.”

Officer Tristen Sprague is a rookie transitioning from four years of military service in the U.S. Air Force, having also joined the С��Ƭ��Ƶ police department last year. Tristen Sprague is hoping to find his own approach to law enforcement.

“At the end of the day, we’re all human beings,” Tristen Sprague said. “We got the vest and all the gear but sleep in a bed just like everybody else.”

Tristen Sprague is Rick Sprague’s son, and while he’s following in his father’s footsteps, his desire to guide students along their education paths rather than through the legal system reflects his commitment to supporting the campus community.

Currently, Tristen Sprague works during the day, and Rick Sprague works nights. Though the two are on different shifts, the importance of strengthening the relationship between students, faculty and police officers is a common goal they work toward around the clock. It runs in the family.

The familial connection to campus runs even deeper, starting Fall 2025. Enter two first-year Spragues. Rick Sprague’s two daughters enrolled at С��Ƭ��Ƶ the same year their father and brother joined the university, making the family’s service to the campus community all the more meaningful. This story is a testament to the inherent sense of safety and belonging that defines the Golden Flash experience.

“I do worry about the increased threat that schools at all levels face,” Rick Sprague said. “Maybe that’s part of what drew me back to doing this work, to try to stop something like that before it happens.”

United by their commitment to service, the Spragues are part of a broader mission shared by campus officers to protect while building trust and lasting relationships with the student body.

“We’re trying to get people through to graduation, not through booking,” Tristen Sprague said. “More of a holistic — less of a ballistic — type of mindset is our policing.”

They know their impact reaches beyond safety; it’s about leaving a positive mark on the lives of those who walk С��Ƭ��Ƶ’s campus every day.

“If we can bridge that gap, even just a little bit each day, maybe in 10 years people in our community will be glad to see us, knowing we’re doing right by them,” Tristen Sprague said.

For Rick Sprague, policing has never just been about enforcing laws; it’s about meeting people where they are and helping them through life’s challenges. That mindset carries over into his work on campus, where small moments of connection often mean the most.

“There are a lot of good kids on this campus, and if you take the time to smile and say hello, they’ll do it back,” Rick Sprague said.

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