Longtime Marlton resident and Evesham Township police Sgt. Trevor Short has called it a career after 25 years of protecting the community.
Short began his law enforcement journey in June of 1997, when he attended the Gloucester County Police Academy and graduated through its Alternate Route Training Program, which enables civilians to enter the police academy without first being hired by an agency and be trained alongside a traditional police recruit.
“My whole start was similar to most (police officers),” Short explained. “I just wanted to be in a position where I could do good for the community that I grew up in. I also got a lot of push from my father, because it was a career path he wanted to pursue but was unable to do.”
Short was hired out of the academy by the Evesham police in December of 1997 and held a number of positions – including about three years as an investigator – before his promotion to corporal in 2004. Seven years later, Short was promoted to sergeant and assigned to the department’s patrol division, where he supervised a number of units.
Short spent approximately 12 years of his career with the police department’s Special Response and Southern Regional Special Response teams and served on the Burlington County Civil Response Team. For most of his career, he was a firearms and taser instructor and played an important role in training officers on use-of-force options and scenarios.
“I enjoyed handling the higher-risk things, which is probably what a lot of people don’t like to do,” Short remarked. “I just felt that with all the experience I gained over the years, I really enjoyed preparing our officers in the event something serious happens.”
Evesham Police Chief Walt Miller reflected on his time working with Short and the latter’s connection to the community where he lives.
“Trevor and I have worked together pretty much his entire career, (and) all but six months of my career,” Miller said. “He grew up in this town, so that was a huge asset for him and the department.”
Short looks forward to the next chapter in his life, but the friendships he formed in his career make retirement bittersweet.
“I’m definitely going to miss the officers … the camaraderie I had with all of the men and women of the department,” he noted.
But Short has no plans to rest on his laurels: He will go back to work next month as a project manager for Tri-County Development Group Inc., a builder, remodeler, and general contractor for whom Short worked before his police career.
“It’s a lot of hands-on work (as a project manager), but it’s also me getting back into the stuff I was doing before I left (to attend the police academy),” Short pointed out. “I’ve always been a ‘work-with-my-hands-type of person,’ so now I’m kind of blending two things I enjoy together by working with customers and, in a sense, building dreams for people.
“I’m happy that I left a good department I know is in good hands with a very high-quality chief who really has the department going in a good direction.”
