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Sumpter Township Chief of Police
Eric Luke is the grandmarshal of the
Belleville National Strawberry
Festival this year.
Luke's roots run deep in the com-
munity. He is a lifelong resident of
Van Buren Township and graduated
from Belleville High School in 1988
as didhis brother, Darrin in 1993. The
siblings followed in the footsteps of
their parents, James Luke, Jr. and
Carol (Johnson) Luke, both 1967 grad-
uates of BellevilleHighSchool.
His paternal grandfather, James
Luke, Sr. and maternal grandparents,
Jack and Mary Faye Johnson, still
live in Belleville or Van Buren
Township.
Luke graduated from the
Washtenaw Police Academy in
December 1993 and began his law
enforcement career in Sumpter
Township in July 1994. He rose
steadily through the ranks and was
promoted to corporal in 2000, ser-
geant in 2008, lieutenant in 2010 and
captain in 2013. He was named chief
of police inFebruary of this year.
"I am very proud to be the first
Sumpter Township Police officer (at
the time) to attend the School of
Police Staff & Command, doing so
through the Center of Regional and
National Security at Eastern
Michigan University. I am also
extremely proud to be the first
Sumpter Township Police Chief
hired from within the department
ranks since Chief Clinton Brown in
1978," Luke said.
Luke and his wife, Trully, met
while she was a 911 dispatcher for
Central Dispatch Network in 1997/98,
he said. The couple was married in
August 1999 and are the parents of
twin sons, Alexander and Benjamin,
whowill be 6 in July.
Grand Marshal Sumpter
Township Police Chief Eric Luke
Photography by Shannon
Police chief chosen as Grand Marshal
