Seal Beach Police Officer Eric Tittle will retire this month, concluding 34 years of law enforcement service, according to a social media post by a Seal Beach resident. Lt. Nick Nicholas, public information officer for the SBPD, confirmed this week that there would be a presentation in Tittle’s honor at the Dec. 13 council meeting.
Seal Beach resident Mark Loopesko went on the Nextdoor platform to ask residents to send their respects to Officer Tittle to SBPD headquarters.
“At the end of this month (Dec) SBPD Officer Eric Tittle will be retiring after 34 years of serving, protecting and patrolling our lovely city,” Loopesko wrote. (Loopesko emailed a copy of his post to the Sun.) As of Tuesday, Dec. 7, the post had received 10 comments and 29 “heart” emojis supporting Officer Tittle. It is not known if Tittle has an account with the social media platform, so it is not known if he has read the thanks. A matching post by Elizibeth Kane on Facebook received three “likes” as of Tuesday morning, Dec. 7.
“Officer Tittle started his law enforcement career here in Seal Beach. Please take a few minutes and MAIL or DROP OFF a LETTER, CARD or NOTE of gratitude for his service to us and our city,” Loopesko wrote.
“The address is: Officer Eric Tittle, Seal Beach Police Dept., 911 Seal Beach Blvd., Seal Beach, CA 90740. His smiling face will be greatly missed in our town. Let’s get many thousands of cards & letters mailed to him ASAP,” Loopesko wrote.
Asked what inspired him to honor Officer Tittle, Loopesko wrote:
“Elizabeth and I have known him for years, he was a member of the force when we first moved here and when we met many of the officers Many of the force that we originally met 25 years ago have retired, but Officer Tittle has remained and we have always kept in touch with each other. He has always been very friendly to us and the residents and always makes a point of stopping by the house to say hi or gives a call to see how we are doing.”
Comments from associates
Stan Berry, a supervising investigator with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (Special Assignments Unit & Special Prosecutions Unit), agreed that Tittle’s 34-year career was a remarkable achievement.
District One Councilman/Mayor Joe Kalmick said: “I’ve known Eric for many years, and I always felt that he represented a new generation of Seal Beach officers that were more community oriented.”
Retired former Seal Beach Police Chief Joe Miller is an old friend of Officer Tittle.
“Having worked along side Eric for over 30 years at the Seal Beach Police Department, I have had the honor of watching Eric perform his duties as a consummate professional where his dedication to the community never wavered,” Miller wrote.
“We personally both started very young and together grew up within the Seal Beach community,” Miller wrote.
“As you can imagine, we together were involved in witnessing countless tragedies, but also unbelievable great experiences. He’s made a tremendous impact within the community and it’s police department. There is no doubt, he will be missed by both,” Miller wrote.
Tittle’s current boss, Chief Phil Gonshak elaborated on Tittle’s career.
“After 34 years of service to the community of Seal Beach, Officer Eric Tittle has decided to retire. Officer Tittle started his career in Law Enforcement in 1982 as an Explorer in the City of La Habra. Then in 1985 he was hired as a Police Cadet for the City of Los Alamitos, where he also worked as a Police Dispatcher and later as a Reserve Police Officer. Then on February 17th 1988, Officer Tittle was hired as a Police Officer for the City of Seal Beach,” Gonshak wrote.
“While working for the City of Seal Beach, Officer Tittle has held a variety of assignments. From 1989 until 1993 Officer Tittle was a Police Explorer Advisor. During that time, several of his explorers later become police officers in the surrounding communities. For four years Officer Tittle was assigned to the Orange County Regional Narcotics Suppression Team, where he assisted in the apprehension of drug dealers and high-profile narcotic stings,” Gonshak wrote.
“Further, Officer Tittle served as a Field Training Officer for a total of 3 years. Officer Tittle Has been assigned to the range staff as a Range Master and Armorer for now over 20 years. He has completed two tours as a motor officer between 1993 to 1996 and from 1999 to 2004,” Gonshak wrote.
“Finally, Officer Tittle was assigned to the Seal Beach SWAT Team from 1990-1996 until it disbanded. Then in 2007, he was selected as a member of the West Orange County regional SWAT Team, where he has been assigned as a Sniper for the entirety of his service.
“Most importantly, Officer Tittle is extremely proud of raising his two successful children and managing a successful secondary business in his off time. Officer Tittle’s retirement plans are to learn to surf (Yes, after 34 years in Seal Beach, Officer Tittle has never gone surfing) and finally catch up on his list of ‘things to fix around the house’,” Gonshak wrote.s
“In closing, we are extremely proud of his service and want him to know how much he’ll be missed, not just by the residents of Seal Beach, but by the entirety of all City of Seal Beach staff,” Gonshak wrote.
“Congratulations Horsey!” Gonshak wrote.
