When North Mankato Police Chief Mike Pulis looks back on his 34-year career in law enforcement, he admits police work was something he pursued, in part, because he didn’t always listen to his mother.

“It’s all those things your mother tells you not to do,” he said. “Don’t drive fast. Don’t shoot guns. Don’t pry into other people’s business.”

Pulis, who has served as chief in North Mankato for the past nine years, will retire at the end of the month. Friends and colleagues gathered to wish him well during an open house at the Police Department Tuesday afternoon.

There’s been much more to Pulis’ career than all those things on his mother’s list. Born and raised in Mankato, Pulis landed his first full-time law enforcement job shortly after he graduated from Mankato State.

While a student, he had been working part time as a Blue Earth County dispatcher and Eagle Lake police officer. That led to the connections he needed to do undercover work for nine months in several counties. The job was paid for through a federal drug enforcement grant.

Pulis, 55, joined the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Department after that, working his way up to a detective job. He joined the North Mankato Police Department as a captain in 1987.

He qualified to attend the FBI National Academy in 1995, another career highlight, he said. The academy has strict requirements and is intellectually as well as physically demanding.

Pulis also has spent many years serving on a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Team. The team provides counseling to officers and firefighters who have been involved in extremely stressful situations. It’s a duty that sent him to New York City after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“Most of the people I dealt with, the majority of them saw the planes hit the towers or responded within the first two hours,” Pulis said.

There were many bad incidents that were part of his long career, but Pulis said he didn’t want to focus on them.

It’s not clear yet who his replacement will be. The second person in the department’s chain of command, Capt. Chris Boyer, said he would consider applying for the job if he meets the qualifications.

Those qualifications, and who will be in charge when Pulis leaves, haven’t yet been set by City Administrator Wendell Sande.

“They’ve got another week to make those decisions,” Boyer said.

Boyer, who has been with the department for nine years, said he has enjoyed his tenure under Pulis.

“He lets you do your job without a lot of interruption,” Boyer said. “We just wish him a healthy and long retirement.”