Retiring Westmoreland sheriff’s deputy reflects on 4-decade career that he loved
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Eric Sinclair never gave a career in law enforcement much thought while growing up in Harrison.
But as he reflects on his four decades as a deputy for the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office, he has no regrets about his decision to skip college and enter the police academy.
At 2 p.m. Friday, June 16, Sinclair, 62, of Arnold concluded his career by listening for his name during a final roll call broadcast over the radio in the sheriff’s cruiser parked outside his home.
“I’ve really loved this job,” he said. “I loved it from the beginning and still do. I know I’m going to miss it. But, tomorrow, I’m done and I won’t look back.”
Sinclair said the sheriff’s department does not keep records on which deputies have put in the most years of service.
So he decided to research it and learned that since joining the department in 1983, he has been the longest-serving deputy.
Sinclair said the highlight of his career has been the opportunity to meet so many people with whom he has become friends.
He also values the opportunities he has had to interact with people in the community.
“Honestly, I can’t say that I would have changed anything,” he said. “I’ve heard from a lot of the people that I dealt with over the years, whether it was arresting them, taking them to jail or transporting them to the magistrate.
“They’ll see me sitting on my porch or when I’m out shopping, and stop and shake my hand and thank me for the way I treated them,” he said. “It’s satisfying to know that I was able to have a positive impact on them.”
Sinclair said the respect he shows the people with whom he engages is one of the things he tries to pass on to colleagues.
“I’ve tried to remind the younger deputies that the people we encounter are human and deserve respect,” he said. “I’ve taken that approach because I live in this community. I can’t hide. I have a ‘billboard’ parked outside my front door announcing that a sheriff lives here.”
Sinclair said even simple acts such as stopping at a child’s lemonade stand, handing out “badges” to kids at a playground or just taking the time to chat with them can be an important step toward building stronger relations between residents and law enforcement.
Finding the right fit
Sinclair said he was never enthralled with TV police shows while growing up or had family members involved in police work.
“I guess the idea of working in law enforcement was something that was always kind of stuck in the back of my head,” he said.
Sinclair’s father was a pharmacist, and his mother was a nurse.
But unlike his four siblings, he had little interest in attending college after graduating from high school.
“My brothers and sisters all went to college, but it just wasn’t my thing,” said Sinclair, who worked as a laborer at the former Freeport Brick Co. after graduating from high school.
“Before my Dad passed away, he asked me what I wanted to do, and I told him that I wanted to try to get into law enforcement.”
Sinclair joined the Allegheny County Police Academy when they first began admitting civilians for police officer training.
In the years before he entered the academy, most officers were trained after they were hired by a police department.
“I went in the year they started allowing civilians,” Sinclair said. “And that’s how it’s still done. Most departments nowadays won’t hire you unless you’ve already gone through the academy.”
After completing his training, Sinclair considered relocating to Rhode Island where he had friends.
“I was going to look for a job with a police department up there,” he said. “I was getting married to my first wife at the time, and my future father-in-law said he would try to help me get something locally. I ended up being hired with the sheriff’s office and have been here ever since.”
Five years into the job, Sinclair was reassigned from the courthouse in Greensburg to handle duties in the portion of Westmoreland County that includes Arnold.
While trips to the courthouse several times a week are still part of the job, being stationed close to where he lives and having a take-home sheriff’s cruiser cut out the nearly hourlong commute between Arnold and Greensburg.
“I love being on the road. And being based here lets me be more flexible,” he said. “If I can’t get hold of somebody during the day to serve papers, it’s not a problem for me to go out in the evening to do it.”
Being close to home also has allowed Sinclair to assist local police departments.
“I always go when a local department needs something,” he said. “And they’ve returned the favor when I needed help.”
Sinclair said there have been numerous instances over the years when he’s been at home with a police radio on and responded to a dispatch for an officer who needs assistance.
“I’ll just grab my badge and gun and go,” he said. “One time, the call seemed like it might be something urgent so I ran out of here wearing shorts and no shoes.”
Ever-present danger
While sheriff’s deputies typically do not face the inherent dangers police officers can encounter when they are the first to arrive on a scene, the job is not without risks.
Sinclair learned that lesson shortly after moving from the courthouse to cover the Arnold and New Kensington area.
“We went to shut down a bar in Arnold that was ordered closed because it was a nuisance,” he said. “I went in with another deputy, and the owner was there. When we told him why we were there, he pulled a gun out of the register.”
Sinclair said he was able to disarm the man and keep things from escalating. But the lesson on the need to always be prepared for an encounter was clear.
“We didn’t have (bulletproof) vests at the time, so I went back to the office and told them that I wasn’t going to do that again unless I have a vest,” he said.
The only time Sinclair had to fire his gun was during an incident in the late 1980s in which he was assisting New Kensington police while they were trying to catch a drug suspect.
“They were chasing him, so I parked my vehicle on Freeport Road while he was traveling in my direction,” Sinclair said. “I got out of the car, pulled my weapon and ordered him to stop. But he wasn’t stopping.”
Sinclair tried to evade the oncoming vehicle by jumping over the back of his cruiser to the sidewalk.
“He drove up onto the sidewalk, and I had to jump out of the way before I was able to shoot through the window,” he said. “When the officers who were chasing the suspect got there, they thought I had been hit by the vehicle.”
Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert has only been in the job since 2020, but he is well acquainted with Sinclair.
“During the 1980s, I was a sheriff’s deputy in Westmoreland County, and Eric and I often worked together and were sometimes paired up together as partners,” said Albert, who announced recently that he is seeking a second term as county sheriff.
“He did a terrific job back then, and that continued throughout the 40 years he’s been with us,” Albert said.
Albert said members of the sheriff’s department fêted Sinclair on Monday, and he had the chance to speak briefly to him.
“Eric’s an old friend and I know the kind of guy he is, so I asked him if he was sure he was going to like retirement,” Albert said. “I told him he should be thinking about getting a hobby or a part-time job.”
Sinclair said his wife, Tammy, began planning financially three years ago so he wouldn’t have to work unless it is his choice.
But beyond doing some lawn care for a handful of people he knows, Sinclair doesn’t think he will be itching to return to work.
“We started traveling a few years ago and want to continue doing that,” he said. “We’re also looking at getting a summer place in Myrtle Beach. But beyond that, my plan is to relax. I feel like I’ve done the best that I could and earned my retirement, so that’s what I’m going to do.”