West Lampeter Township Police Officer Ed McLaughlin didn’t know much about Lancaster County; the young officer grew up in Delaware County and was working with Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) transit when luck allowed him and his girlfriend (now fiancée) the chance to visit the Garden Spot of America.

“My schedule got rearranged so that I would have the weekend off,” McLaughlin said. “Having a weekend off without having to burn any vacation days was rare at that time so we were just trying to think of something to do. We decided that we were just going to take a drive through Lancaster. We really had no plan.”

They had heard Lancaster was much different than Delco and wanted to see the rural landscape, which they fell in love with.

“I mentioned that if the opportunity came, I would apply to a few departments in the county,” McLaughlin, who graduated from the Police Academy in 2016, said. “I talked with a guy at SEPTA who said Lancaster did a consortium. I applied and got contacted by a handful departments within the county. I was very fortunate to wind up with [West Lampeter Township].”

Officer McLaughlin moved to Lancaster County in 2020 and has been with West Lampeter Township Police Department for three years. The most memorable moment of his career so far was getting the job offer within the department.

“Just my level of excitement,” McLaughlin said. “I'm not afraid to admit I knew nothing about any department. For the majority of them, I hadn’t heard of them until I got a phone call saying, ‘Hey, you want to apply?’ After doing research about West Lampeter, that was my number one. Just knowing that I landed somewhere that I was holding in such high regard was such an accomplishment for me.”

In his time with West Lampeter he has successfully completed additional training courses that allow him to train other officers.

“I've gone to school to be one of our control tactics instructors, which allows me to teach the other officers, sergeant, lieutenant, chief and essentially everybody different control techniques to help you effect an arrest more safely,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin wants to keep expanding his knowledge in control techniques; he’s become an expert in hand-to-hand, baton, and different handcuffing techniques but wants to widen his knowledge to taser and firearm instruction.

He also mentioned interest in more trainings in DUI, traffic, and drug recognition; the variety of areas possible to receive education is one part of why he became an officer and enjoys it so much.

“There’s variety in every hour of every day,” McLaughlin said. “When I graduated high school, I know I wanted to do something within criminal justice. I went to Neumann University with the intention of being a prosecution attorney and then just the more I thought about it the more I wanted to be a little bit more hands on. I wanted to have a direct impact in somebody’s life.”

It makes the job rewarding even when some traumatic events can stick with officers longer than they’d like.

“Some things you see on this job aren’t super easy to take in and it kind of sticks with you,” McLaughlin said. He has a great support system with his fiancée and other officers who he can talk to rather than bottling it up. He’d still recommend the occupation to people thinking of joining the ranks.

“As tough and grueling as it can be, it can also be extremely rewarding,” he said. “I felt like I needed to do something where I have an impact on people and I truly feel like I do that. Even outside of making arrests where there’s a victim. Just driving around, talking to young kids who are interested in taking a tour of the station.”

McLaughlin also loves watching the Phillies, playing video games with friends, spending time outdoors, and sporadically going back to Delco to visit with his young niece and nephew. But you can now call him a proud Lancastrian.

“This county is so diverse,” McLaughlin said. “It has a bit of everything. There are rural areas, farms, suburban areas, business districts. I love it here.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.