Reserve Deputy Rob Harris retires from GCSO

MOSES LAKE — Grant County Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy Rob Harris worked his last night of service Sept. 19 and has officially retired from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.  

“It’s kind of surreal, I’ve been a reserve with them for over 13 years, and I’ve absolutely loved what I did,” said Harris.  

There were plenty of things he enjoyed doing during his time as a deputy, he said, such as working with INET and working events at the Gorge Amphitheater. When events would come up at the Gorge, he would take every available shift at the venue that he could. 

“That’s the fun thing about being a deputy, is that there’s so many different things you can do,” said Harris.  

He said there were weeks where he would be clocking in around 100 hours between working the road and the Gorge as a deputy and his full-time work as the City of Ephrata Public Works Director. 

“Rob’s one of those guys that has always been very active and puts in several shifts a month,” said Grant County Sheriff Joey Kriete. “I think that really is the pinnacle of being a public servant in Grant County, when you’re willing to volunteer your time to give to the community just for the betterment of it.” 

Kriete said Harris was one of the hardest workers on the force and was always reliable to take on any task that needed to be handled, no matter how serious. Harris’s contributions were appreciated by every member of GCSO, he said. 

Harris started his career as a volunteer fireman and always wanted to be a reserve officer. He couldn't to follow his dream initially, but in 2011, he applied to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office for their reserve program. 

He was accepted into the Reserve Academy and began his training Jan. 4, 2012, spending each day up until his retirement putting in as many hours as possible for the community. 

“If I would have found this career earlier in life, this is what I would have done for a living,” said Harris. “I absolutely loved being a cop; I love the guys I work with; I love the association I was in. I can’t have enough praise for the people that I worked with.” 

During his tenure, he said there were lots of changes to the GCSO and law enforcement as a whole. One of the major changes was the loss of the reserve program that brought him onto the force, but when Kriete took over as sheriff when Tom Jones retired, he assured Harris that there would be a place for him with GCSO as long as he wanted to serve. 

Harris said his decision to retire came after a long conversation with Sergeant Mike Crowder, who he viewed as a mentor, following his own retirement. Crowder told Harris that a person will just one day know when it’s time to call it quits and for Harris now was that time. 

“For me, it was just all of a sudden I kind of knew it was time, and I wanted to go out while I was still on top,” Harris said. “If I would have waited until I was at full retirement age, I would have been 62 years old, and everybody knows what happens to your body in that time.” 

Kriete said the commitment and skill that Harris brought to GCSO is something that will be missed and now brings an end to the reserve program for the time being.  

“He was a very critical piece of our puzzle,” said the sheriff. “I really appreciate all that Rob did for the community and for the agency. Very selfless guy, always willing to give everybody his all and always thought of everybody else before himself.” 

While retiring from GCSO isn’t a full retirement since he still will be working full-time as the Ephrata Public Works Director, Harris said it does open a large portion of his schedule that he is still deciding how to fill.  

“I’ve got to fill that void because I absolutely loved what I did and my kids, they’ve even said it’s so visible how passionate I was about it,” he said. 

    Though Rob Harris has retired from his work as a Reserve Sheriff’s Deputy with GCSO, he is still active as the City of Ephrata’s Public Works Director.