Ross Board Promotes Two Patrolmen to Sergeant

Two Ross Township police patrolman have been promoted to the rank of sergeant by the  

The promotion of Matthew Grubb, who has been a member of the for 11 years, was approved 8-0 July 11 by the board. Grubb works in the patrol division's K9 unit with his partner, Airus. He is a member of the Allegheny County District Attorney's Narcotics Enforcement Team (DANET) and the department's ceremonial unit. 

Grubb is a nationally recognized trainer of Patrol and Narcotic Detection K9 Teams through the North American Police Work Dog Association, and he served three years as the Canine Chairman for the Pennsylvania Tactical Officers Association. He served six years on the North Hills Special Response Team (SWAT) as an operator and a tactical K9 handler. He is continuing his interest in police training as a departmental defensive tactics instructor. 

Grubb also serves as one of the Ross Police Department's field training officers. 

Before joining the Ross Police Department, Grubb spent five years as a police officer with the in Montgomery County. Raised in Colts Neck, NJ, Grubb graduated from St. John Vianney High School and received his bachelor's degree in criminal justice at Temple University in 1995. 

David Eckels was also promoted by the Board of Commissioners July 11 on a vote of 8-0.

Eckels was hired by the Ross Township Police Department in October 2000 and is assigned to the patrol division's 4 p.m. to midnight shift. He is also the tactical team leader for the North Hills Special Response Team (SWAT). 

Eckels maintains a dual assignment to the Armory Unit as an armorer and is designated as the senior firearms instructor for the department. He is also a member of the ceremonial unit and serves as a field training officer.  

Born and raised in Washington County, Eckels is a 1988 graduate of Trinity High School. He joined the Marine Corps after graduation and served in the 1991 Gulf War in Iraq as an infantryman, eventually achieving the rank of sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserves. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in criminology at Indiana University of Pennyslvania and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Before joining the Ross Police Department, Eckels worked for the Montgomery County Maryland Police Department and the City of Latrobe Police Department. 

The patrolmen will be sworn in at a ceremony later this month.