New Kirtland police officer Jake Scott brings experience with international concerts, tattoos, Israeli military

Jul. 29—Jake Scott's interests have led him to perform on international concert tours, design tattoos and serve in the Israeli military.

And now the Northeast Ohio native is continuing his personal journey by joining the Kirtland Police Department.

Chief Brian McCallister introduced Scott at the July 5 City Council meeting, before the new patrolman was sworn in by Mayor Kevin Potter. The chief noted that Scott's hiring came at the end of a search process that lasted around one and a half years.

"Jake has really set himself apart in the application process, and I think he brings a level of life experience that is very difficult to find nowadays," McCallister said.

"Kirtland really has something special," Scott said. "They've pulled together a team of people with really diverse backgrounds and abilities, and how they do business, so to speak, how they interact with their public, sets people up to know that this is a resource.

"That the police department is here for, not just policing, but customer service."

The new officer attributed his interest in service to his grandfather, a World War II veteran who later served in the New York City and Beachwood police departments and on Beachwood City Council.

He also had parents who encouraged artistic expression. They persuaded his private school to let him play electric guitar in the jazz band, even though the school initially refused. He also played electric bass and bass violin.

"I started doing that academically through middle school, and that led in to me really networking with a lot of musicians in the area," Scott said. "I kind of just stumbled into playing in local bands, and that led to me stumbling into playing in international bands."

Scott played guitar and bass for multiple groups, creating albums and touring in Europe, the United States and Mexico.

His band experience and interest in visual arts led to his next major career as a tattoo artist. He noted that "music is heavily tattoo-centric," and that he visited tattoo shops when home from his concerts.

Scott's tattoo artist eventually encouraged him to learn the craft, and as he began moving away from concert performances, he started working at Black Metal Tattoo Company in Strongsville. He said that he particularly enjoyed working with letters, with his father having been a calligrapher.

His artistic interests eventually came into conflict with a desire to serve in the military. He had all of his tattoos by the time he was 21 years old, and though he said none of them violated content guidelines, he had designs in locations prohibited by the U.S. military.

"I started finding myself in this kind of catch-22, where I felt this huge call for service, that I wanted to follow in those footsteps of my grandfather, but also following in the lines of that self-expression," he said.

Having grown up in the Beachwood area, Scott had classmates from the Jewish community who visited Israel and served in the Israel Defense Forces. He eventually connected with the IDF and served in an infantry unit.

He returned home after his military service ended.

"I have yet to find somewhere worldwide that was greater than or better than what we have here," Scott said. "I truly love Northeast Ohio."

He began a K-9 police dog kennel in 2014 that he still operates. He interest in the canine companions also came from his grandfather, who owned two German shepherds that served in World War II.

The K-9 business supported his studies at Kent State University's police academy, which he completed in 2022 as he began to look for a role in law enforcement.

Scott's tattoos also presented difficulties when looking for police department, though he eventually started serving as an officer for the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority.

"I had an incredible experience getting to really work with some of the best cops I could have asked for," he said.

"There are so many people that live in CMHA housing inside Cuyahoga County, and having a police department that is in tune to their specific needs allowed me to start becoming not just a police officer, but a really personable, connected police officer, trying to understand better what the people that I'm working for and with need," Scott added.

He later served as an officer for Holden Arboretum, which connected him with Kirtland. He saw the way that officers spoke with residents at the city's Strawberry Festival.

"They knew everybody's name," Scott said. "Everybody knew them. That was something I had never experienced, having someone just want to come up and chit chat with a police officer."

"I feel like I found an agency that really speaks to who I am as far as wanting to connect with people genuinely," he later added.

Scott noted that his interests have helped him as a police officer.

"I really like getting to know people, and just because we're meeting you in some kind of enforcement action doesn't change anything," he said. "I'm still going to talk to you as a person; I'm still going to get to know you, and I'm going to try and find that common ground."

Scott said that he works to find similar interests in music, movies, TV shows and other forms of media.

McCallister noted that Scott's tattoos helped him during a traffic stop with a person who was "pretty upset."

"They started talking about tattoos and artwork, and it turned something that could have turned in a hard situation for us to deal with to something really easy," McCallister said. "And it became really obvious to me then that...his ability to talk to people, along with his distinct look, is something that's good for law enforcement," the chief said.

Another interest Scott has used in his police work is his love of languages. He began learning French and Spanish in school, using his French during his concert tours, while he learned Hebrew in three months during his IDF training.

In addition to interacting with members of the public, he said that knowledge of other languages has led him to more intentionally consider the words he uses in English.

"I just can't say enough about what I feel Jake Scott's bringing to the table for the city of Kirtland," McCallister said. "I think he's going to fit in very well with our organization."