Meet new NBPD officer Tim DaCosta

Tim DaCosta’s blood lines run a proud shade of blue.

The newest member of the New Bedford Police Department is the son of Ed DaCosta, a highly decorated member of the Massachusetts State Police, and Jill DaCosta.

Growing up in a law enforcement family and seeing how much respect his father received, pursuing a career in police work was “always in the back of my mind,’’ he said.

Officer DaCosta grew up in New Bedford, graduated from New Bedford High School in 2008 and from Bristol Community College in 2012.

He became a New Bedford Police Department cadet in 2013. “I fell in love with it,’’ he said.

He then became a dispatcher for about a year before pursuing the full-time police position.

In that role, and in his new patrol officer position, he looks forward to “being able to help people, getting people the resources they need.’’

He is eager to move from behind the desk as a dispatcher to patrolling the streets and meeting people in person, some of whom he may have spoken to while working as a dispatcher.

“I look forward to just getting out there and seeing how it is out there firsthand,’’ he said.

Officer DaCosta, 26, and his girlfriend Brittany Cornell have a daughter, Emma Marie DaCosta, who will be two in June.