Eric’s growing up years and passion for baseball:
Eric Stewart was born and raised in southern California. Eric grew up in the Covina and West Covina areas. Eric attended and graduated from South Hills High School in West Covina. Growing up, Eric’s sports passion was baseball. Eric played baseball at South Hills and dreamed of playing professionally.
After graduating from high school and getting no interest from colleges for his baseball prowess (Eric hit below the “Mendoza line” in high school, LOL), Eric attended Mount San Antonio (Junior) College for a semester and then transferred to Cal Poly Pomona to finish out his first year of college. A friend (who played football at Cal Poly) prompted Eric to try his hand at football, so Eric attended Cal Poly’s spring football camp. During the summer after his first year of college, Eric received a baseball scholarship from Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU), an NAIA school. Eric jumped at the opportunity. Eric attended OBU for one semester at which point he decided to leave OBU and return to California and attempt to play baseball at Cal Poly Pomona, for legendary baseball coach John Scolinos. Eric red-shirted his first year back at Cal Poly and went on to play for two seasons (at Cal Poly), where he became the starting catcher for the team and hit over .300 avg. for his college baseball career. Eric received all-conference honors, became co-captain his senior year, received the team’s most valuable player award (his senior year), and went on to play professional baseball in the minor leagues with the Seattle Mariners Baseball Club. Unfortunately, Eric’s professional baseball career and visions of grandeur ended quickly due to a shoulder injury.
Eric’s Law Enforcement Experience:
After baseball, Eric made the decision to begin a career in law enforcement, which lasted 38 years. Eric began his career with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), where he worked for approximately nine years. Eric spent 23 ½ years with the Aurora (Colorado) Police Department (APD), and approximately 5 ½ years with the Loveland (Colorado) Police Department (LPD). Eric spent approximately half his career working/focusing on street gangs in Los Angeles County and Aurora. Eric rose through the ranks at APD, holding positions as a police officer, detective, undercover officer/investigator in the Metro Gang Task Force (MGTF), sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and commander. Eric retired from the APD as a commander to become the Deputy Chief at the LPD. Eric held the LPD’s Interim Police Chief position for approximately eight months prior to his retirement from the LPD.
Eric’s Education and Teaching/Training Experience:
Concerning education, Eric earned a master’s degree in leadership and a bachelor’s degree in applied management (business administration). In July 2013, Eric attended and completed the Police Executive Research Forum’s (PERF) Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP) course. Eric completed one year of studies toward a Ph.D. in Business Administration with an emphasis on leadership.
Concerning teaching/training experience, Eric is an adjunct professor at several colleges and universities. Eric teaches undergraduate and graduate courses related to criminal justice, criminology, communication, and leadership. Additionally, Eric is a national instructor for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Leadership in Police Organizations course and IACP’s First-Line Leadership class.
Eric created a Colorado Police Officers Standards and Training (POST) certified search and seizure class, which he teaches throughout the state. Further, Eric created and facilitated a beginner and advanced street gang class, which he facilitated for the Rocky Mountain High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). Eric is a recognized gang expert in several Colorado courts. Eric has testified as an expert in gang-motivated criminal cases and has written opinions for the prosecution concerning gang-motivated cases. Several years ago, Eric was a guest on Peter Boyle’s radio program discussing street gang culture and tattoos. Eric has guest lectured on street gang topics numerous times including at the 2014 Oregon Criminal Justice Conference, the 29th Annual Northwest Shuttle Conference, Colorado’s Division of Adult Patrol’s Colorado Statewide Training Conference, The Colorado Corrections and Youth Offender System Conference, the Colorado Springs Police Department Gang Symposium, Regis University’s CSI Conferences, and the Utah Gang Conference.
Eric’s Other Interests/Hobbies:
Eric is an avid weightlifter. Eric began lifting weights during his senior high school year. Eric became a competitive bodybuilder and had a successful career (if you will) at the regional level. Eric, who did not use performance-enhancing drugs, competed in National Physic Committee (NPC) and natural/drug-tested bodybuilding competitions. Eric placed in the top six of his weight class (light heavyweight) in all his competitions and won the novice Southern California Bodybuilding Championships, the AAU (natural) Mr. Pacific Coast, and was a two-time (back-to-back) overall winner of the California Police Summer Games. Eric placed third in the light-heavyweight division of the 1997 World Police and Fire Games. Eric earned his pro-card for the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation. Eric was a personal trainer while living in California.
Eric’s Publications:
Eric enjoys writing on various criminal justice topics and leadership. Eric’s writings are published in the February 2022 edition of Police Chief Magazine and in Brian Fitch’s book Law enforcement communication: Essential skills for solving crimes, managing difficult people, and improving officer safety.