WILTON – Matt Holland has been the Police Department’s prosecutor since 2015. Now he is a full-time certified officer as well. Holland recently completed the 16-week course at the N.H. Police Academy.

Holland finished the course first in the class of 67 candidates and was presented the Arthur D. Kiskas Award for Outstanding Achievement. He also earned the Pistol Proficiency Award.

“That isn’t just marksmanship,” Holland said on Monday. “They run you through various scenarios, problem solving, finding the best way to handle a situation.”

“Being a police officer was never on my radar,” he said. “But working here I know what police officers do – helping people and I have always been drawn to that.”

Holland came late to police work, he said. With a degree in business from U.N.H., he did “one thing and another” before deciding to enter law school.

“U.N.H. and Franklin Pierce University were just forming their partnership, and it worked out right for me.” He added, “I was just out of law school and I knew some people here. They were looking for a prosecutor and I applied for the position.”

When he was offered the chance to attend the Police Academy, “I took it,” he said. “It’s an expansion of my skill set. In a small town, it seemed like a natural extension.”

He will continue as prosecutor, he said. That is a position that can be very busy, but at times has little action. This way, he is on the scene anyway, and can be of help.

Holland, 41, is a native of Nashua and has lived in Hudson since 2012. He and his wife, Brittany, have two sons.

“I never expected to be a police officer,” he said. “But here I am.”