Sergeant Retires After 30+ Years Of Dedicated Service

(By Sheri Trusty, Seneca County Sheriff’s Office Public Relations Coordinator)

On Feb. 5th, Sgt. Kevin Reinbolt will end a long 34 year career in law enforcement when he retires from the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office on his late father’s birthday.

“He’s gone, but it makes it more meaningful,” Sgt. Reinbolt said.

Sgt. Reinbolt’s career had a unique starting point: a gas station. In the early 1990s, he worked at a local gas station and got to know the deputies and police officers who stopped in for coffee.

“We always talked, and I got to know them,” he said.

Those conversations sparked a desire to work in law enforcement, and in 1992, Sgt. Reinbolt graduated from the police academy at Terra State Community College. He did ridealongs with then-deputies Steve Huston and Matt Noftz and decided he wanted to pursue a position at the Sheriff’s Office.

“I started riding with them and got to love the county,” Sgt. Reinbolt said. “It had a wider jurisdiction.”

Sgt. Reinbolt was first hired as a reserve and was then assigned to the road covering Hopewell Township. He was eventually assigned as a road deputy covering the entire county. He spent about a year working in the Seneca County Jail and 23 years as a detective with the Sheriff’s Office. He ended his career as a sergeant, overseeing a shift of deputies.

He had the opportunity to live the life he had dreamed of as a child.

“Like many kids, I grew up wanting to be in law enforcement. I grew up watching ‘Hill Street Blues’ with my mom,” he said.

But life is not like TV. Life has real dangers and real challenges.

“The biggest challenge is the ups and downs of the job. You get the calls you get every day, and then you can get a serious call, and it’s emotional. Sometimes, you drive off and you get teary-eyed. We’re human,” he said.

Like many of the staff at the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Reinbolt said one of the best parts of the job is working with incredible coworkers.

“In years past, the different departments at the Sheriff’s Office didn’t get along. Now, we get along together,” he said. “The Sheriff is all about that. He’s all about camaraderie. He encourages it, and that’s a very good thing.”