Sean C. Morgan
After 28 years in service to the Sweet Home community, Sgt. Jason Van Eck handed in his gun and his badge, retiring on Monday, July 12, in exchange for the solitude of the woods.
Van Eck started working at Sweet Home Police Department on July 11, 1993.
He graduated from Sweet Home High School in 1989. After high school, he volunteered at the Sweet Home Fire Department and attended Linn-Benton Community College, and he worked At Triple T Studs, Clear Lumber and Lester Sales.
“Becoming a police officer was one of those childhood ‘what-do-you-want-to-do-when-you-grow-up’ things,” Van Eck said. “Police officer, firefighter or truck driver.”
As a volunteer with the Fire Department, he rode along with officers frequently, he said. “I started applying for full-time jobs. This job became available; I got it.”
Former Police Chief Gary David hired Van Eck, and former Fire Chief Joe Mengore was a big supporter and reference for Van Eck.
Van Eck succeeded Rich Culley as a sergeant on Dec. 1, 2001, soon after the department moved to its current location, 1950 Main St., from the old City Hall Annex, 1140 12th Ave.
He happily spent his entire career at Sweet Home Police Department.
“The biggest part of it, I was raising my family here,” he said. “With Bob Burford (retired police chief) and Jeff Lynn (current police chief), they’ve always allowed their officers to take part in the community. They’ve always been flexible with family activities, like sports. They prioritize family.”
Van Eck is a School Board member and has been involved in coaching and other community activities along the way.
He moved to Sweet Home with his family when he was just 4 years old, and he has lived here ever since, which means he has a lot of the connections, friendships and relationships found only in small towns.
“Knowing a lot of people helps in some aspects,” Van Eck said, but it also means he has had to be involved in law enforcement with family and friends. “Sometimes they might expect some kind of leniency, but the law must be enforced equally. That means it can be helpful, but it’s sometimes challenging.”
Along the way, “I’ve always tried to treat people, including those I’ve arrested, with dignity,” Van Eck said. “If you’re picking and choosing based on economic status or something else, you’re not doing your job.”
While retirement is easy, leaving isn’t.
“It’s like leaving family,” Van Eck said. “It’s the people, not just the people I work with, but you also make a lot of connections in the community.”
Van Eck said he has enjoyed working at a small department, a place where officers often end up doing all of the work on individual cases rather than handing them off, as in larger agencies.
“You talk to the victims, find the bad guys and get whatever justice you can for the victim,” Van Eck said.
Van Eck is happy to leave behind the work at this point. He will go to work building roads in the woods for Jake Jeppsen.
“Going to work in the woods is going to help me disconnect from the negative side of this job,” Van Eck said. “We do have a lot of positive contacts, but primarily we deal with people who are victimizing others or have been victimized. That’s 28 years of seeing the worst of things, the inhumanity. It’ll be nice to work with people who aren’t negatively affecting other people.”
Van Eck is married to Trisha Van Eck. They have one daughter still living at home, Jada Autrey, a senior at SHHS. They have three adult children, Taylor Conn, Colyn Van Eck and Alana Van Eck.