After 28 years, Peters Township police chief ready to retire
Since his days as a student at Penn State in the 1970s, Peters Township police Chief Harry Fruecht knew he wanted to be in law enforcement.
Fruecht said he originally attended Penn State with the intention of becoming a teacher. But he took a law enforcement class and became hooked.
“I found it interesting,” he said, “It’s different things every day.”
Fruecht, 65, is retiring Sept. 30 after leading the Peters Township Police Department since 1988.
He is the last of the township’s longtime department heads to retire in the past 12 months, following Pier Lee at Peters Township Public Library; Peter Overcashier at public works; and Michael Silvestri, the township manager who retired Aug. 26 after 40 years with the municipality.
Fruecht’s first job out of college was as a part-time patrolman for Peters. After a brief foray into construction, “in order to pay the bills,” Fruecht returned to law enforcement, first with Cecil Township and then Upper St. Clair, where he rose through the ranks to become deputy chief.
In fact, it was his boss at the Upper St. Clair Police Department who encouraged him to apply for the top job in Peters.
Under Fruecht’s guidance, the Peters department have increased from 16 officers to 24 full-time and four part-time officers.
“I love what I do,” he said.
But there have been some scary moments during his career as a police officer. One time, there was an incident in the English Village section of Upper St. Clair, where a man was holding his in-laws hostage, but Fruecht said he persuaded the man to let him in the house and release the people.
“I took my firearm off and knocked on the door. He told me if I went inside, he would kill me.”
Fruecht said he entered and sat on an ottoman that was positioned between the man and his family.
“I had the gun pointed at me,” he said. “We talked for two hours, and I drove him to the hospital.”
On a lighter note, Fruecht talked about the time he answered a noise complaint, also in English Village.
“There was a man in the pool with three women, and all of them were naked. I told him to keep the noise down.”
Fruecht said his wife, Tina, has been a rock for him. Countless times, they have been at dinner with friends or relatives when he has received a telephone call and had to leave.
“She never, ever said a word,” he said. “That made the job a lot easier.”
The Fruechts are the parents of two grown daughters, Heather, an attorney in Southland, Texas, and Tara, who works for the Fairfax County, Va., police department.
“My kids were taught to shoot. But I never, ever tried to guide them into a career.”
Fruecht said he has accepted another position with a company, which he declined to identify, that is involved with law enforcement. He will also continue with his company, Police Consulting Services LLC, which works with municipalities and police departments on how to improve efficiencies.
Even though he is leaving, Fruecht said there are a lot of things he will miss at Peters Township.
“I know they may find it hard to believe, I will miss the guys a lot,” he said. “This community and its people have treated me well. I hope I have helped make it a better place.”