Cop says people skills are the key

August 20, 2013 at 9:24a.m.

Leaves after 29 years at YPD, 36 in law enforcement

youngstown

Robert Eshenbaugh didn’t waste any time after his last day on the job as a city police officer.

Eshenbaugh, who retired earlier this month after 29 years on the force, said he was planning to move to Florida immediately and already had a house ready to move into in the Sunshine State.

The city’s sometime brutal winters are not something he is going to miss, Eshenbaugh said.

Before he joined city police Eshenbaugh said he was an officer in Warren Township, Trumbull County, for seven years. He has also worked stints for the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office as part of its Marine Patrol.

Eshenbaugh said he decided to take the civil service test in Youngstown because he wanted to work in the city to be close to his father, who was ill at the time, so he could take care of him.

“I’ve been on everything from loose dogs to homicides,” Eshenbaugh said.

Eshenbaugh said the biggest change he has seen through his career is how young people have changed.

“The behavior of the young adults is terrible,” Eshenbaugh said.

Eshenbaugh also said that even though he has more than 35 years in law enforcement, he is still surprised by some things.

“It always amazes me how people can harm one another,” Eshenbaugh said. “I could never understand that.”