Sumpter Chief Eric Luke has deep roots in Belleville community

Eric Luke, who was named Sumpter Township Police Chief on Feb. 23, has deep roots in the Belleville-area community.
Luke, 45, grew up in Van Buren Township and graduated from Belleville High School in 1988, as did his younger brother and only sibling, Darrin, in 1993.
His parents, James Luke, Jr. and Carol (Johnson) Luke also graduated from BHS in 1967.
All of his grandparents, excluding his late grandmother Mary Luke, still reside in Belleville or Van Buren Township, including his grandfather James Luke, Sr.
Grandparents on his mother’s side are Jack and Mary Faye Johnson.
“It’s no secret that most shifts for the past 18 years or so, I’ve taken my lunch/dinner break with my Grandma Johnson, best Southern cook around,” Chief Luke said.
He said he met his wife Trully when she worked as a 911 dispatcher for Central Dispatch Network in Belleville in 1997-98. They were married in August 1999.
Their twin boys are Alexander and Benjamin, who are 5 ½ years old. The family lives in the city of Belleville.
“I was very proud to be the first Sumpter Township police officer to attend the School of Police Staff & Command, doing so through the Center for Regional and National Security (CeRNS) at Eastern Michigan University,” he said. That was Session 26 in 2010.
“Sumpter Township PD is the only department I’ve worked for, hired in July 1994,” he said. “I graduated from the Washtenaw Police Academy in December 1993.”