As he sat behind his desk inside the Chincoteague Police Department, Chief Eddie Lewis recalled the moment that left an indelible impression on his law enforcement career.
It was 25 years ago when he and a fellow Accomack County Sheriff's deputy responded to a call about a destitute family with no food or fuel to heat their home.
"When you get a little child — 5, 6-year-old look at you and grab ahold your pant leg and tell you they're hungry — that does something to you," he said with tears in his eyes.
After using his own money to purchase food for the single mom and her two kids, Lewis made a personal pledge that if he could do anything to help someone he would try.
This month, the police chief will retire after 37 years of providing help to island and Virginia Shore residents. Lewis, who was appointed by the Town Council in 1999, is the only chief since the 1960s to serve for more than a decade.
During a recent interview, the Chincoteague native admitted he disliked cops as a kid. He even went as far as pulling a mean prank on a town officer who reprimanded him for riding his bicycle on the sidewalk.
But after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps following high school, "something just clicked" and he chose a career that would allow him to serve others.
After hearing that Lewis was applying to the state police, Chincoteague's former police chief, Joey Tarr, offered him a starting position with the island department in 1978.
The early years
When he began his police career, Lewis also worked for his father, who ran a pest control business.
During his time as a sheriff's deputy in the early 1980s, Lewis' side job helped him make several arrests. He would often drive his pest control truck to areas where fellow deputies were making drug raids. The unbeknownst dealers would then walk up to Lewis in search of business.
"We made several arrests doing that," Lewis said. "I just thought it was funny; you're in there pulling up in a pest control truck and they're selling me drugs."
The police chief said a majority of the arrests he made during his first years on the job were drug-related. But he also remembers traumatic crimes that stick with him to this day, like a case in which a 74-year-old man had molested between 40 and 50 kids whose ages ranged from 5 to 13.
Responding to calls relating to sexual assault or murder were naturally stressful for Lewis, so the officer said he frequently played jokes on other officers in his younger days to release the tension.
One such joke was when he took the draft notice he received as a teenager and altered it to deceive a young deputy into thinking he was being drafted to serve in Iraq. Lewis' prank went off without a hitch as the 23-year-old officer failed to remember that the country ceased conscription in the early '70s.
"He was all dressed up in a suit and tie getting ready to go to Salisbury to the recruiter's office," recalled Lewis. "The sheriff had to stop him and tell him it was a joke."
Service to the commonwealth
Lewis is known by many for his playful character, but he also is regarded as a chief who's raised the caliber of the Chincoteague police department during his tenure.
In an effort to show the public that his staff of 10 police officers were professionals, he called for year-round training in areas like criminal investigation, firearms instruction and radar instruction. He also went through the proper channels to have his department state-accredited, meaning each and every policy officers carry out is approved by the commonwealth.
"We are the only town or entity on the Eastern Shore that is credentialed thanks to Eddie and his folks," said Chincoteague Town Manager Robert Ritter. "It's a big accomplishment."
Thanks to a good working relationship with the town and council, Lewis has been able to receive funds for not only training, but also new equipment.
He was instrumental in increasing the number of police vehicles from two to five; installing new cameras and computers in the vehicles; purchasing body cameras and microphones for officers and purchasing two Hummer vehicles that are used to help folks during weather emergencies.
In addition to helping his department expand, Lewis has done a great deal to help the community through fundraisers. The biggest fundraiser he spearheaded since becoming chief is the annual poker run, in which motorcycle riders pay to ride a course that extends from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to Chincoteague.
The event, now in its eleventh year, raises proceeds between $10,000 and $25,000 annually. That money benefits a senior luncheon on Chincoteague, scholarship funds for local high school students and also covers food, medical and heat expenses for island residents.
Lewis said his department has also raised funds to purchase Christmas toys for children in nearby towns like Atlantic and Saxis.
Town administrative assistant Kelly Fox, whose son, Billy, grew up with Lewis' daughter, Heather, was personally touched by the generosity of Lewis and his department. When Billy was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma as a child, the police chief raised funds that were donated to cancer research.
"He's just done a lot for the community and led the police department in just a very positive role," said Fox, who sees Lewis almost every day in the town office.
"I'm definitely going to miss him, but he'll be around and we'll see him in the community, too, so it'll be good," she added.
"Couldn't ask for a better job"
Accomack County Sheriff's deputy Donald Tyndall, who received his first speeding ticket from Lewis, said he will miss laughing and joking with the police chief.
During their years working together for the county, Tyndall picked up the police chief's comical manner, which would help mitigate stressful situations the pair encountered.
"You can get in a bad situation but as long as you talk to people the right way; you can joke around with them and all that," said Tyndall. "He's good at that."
"I don't think anybody here can complain about how he handles things," Tyndall added.
After learning Lewis had turned in his letter of resignation, Ritter said he was hoping the police chief would reconsider because "everything's been running very smooth" in the department.
Lewis said he still loves his job but decided now was the time to retire. Juggling all the duties that come with heading the department and running a pest control business, the long days are starting to take their toll.
"I'm working 18, 20 hours a day and I don't feel like I'm giving that 100 percent," Lewis said. "It's not fair to the people and it's not fair to the town and it's not fair to myself."
The police chief's last day will be Tuesday, March 31.
Lewis will be replaced by Randy Mills, a fellow Chincoteague native who's been the assistant police chief for the past 15 years.
The police chief said the hardest thing about leaving his post will be no longer working with Mills and the other island officers.
All in all it's been a good ride for Lewis, who said he definitely made the right decision going into law enforcement.
"It's been a good experience. I've really enjoyed doing what I've done all these years. Couldn't ask for a better job."
