21. Eric Watson - Law Enforcement

3RIPLE 3HREAT

On today's episode of the 3RIPLE 3HREAT podcast, Jermel interviews his good friend, DCA Eric Watson.

Jermel was hesitant in his approach due to his posture with law enforcement. Growing up in neighborhoods where the police force gets a bad name, Jermel still carries that weight with him. Then it hit him. As someone with a voice in the community, he has a responsibility to knock the wall down and open up the conversation.

So Jermel and Eric met and talked and discovered that Watson had the same feelings about law enforcement, but he became involved and knocked the wall down from the inside.

Like Jermel, Eric is a former student-athlete from the city of Charleston. He attended Burke High School.

After their conversation, Jermel and Eric agreed that as a culture, we need to consider public safety and public services as careers.

Tune in to the 3RIPLE 3HREAT podcast to hear all about the transition from the Eastside of Charleston to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. Here is a little info about DCA Eric Watson: Deputy County Administrator Eric Watson is a native son of Charleston. He was raised on the peninsula of Charleston, also known as Charleston’s eastside. He attended public schools in Charleston County and graduated from Burke High School.

Eric is a military veteran and has been employed by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office for twenty-six years. His career in law enforcement started as a detention deputy at the Al Cannon Detention Center. He was sworn in as a deputy sheriff in 1997. He worked as a patrol deputy and as a detective in the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division.

After working in Criminal Investigations for several years, Chief Watson was promoted to the rank of sergeant. He worked in a variety of specialized units as a supervisor. He worked as a patrol supervisor, court security supervisor, worked in the Office Professional Standards, supervised criminal investigations as a lieutenant and captain, he also served as the Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, before being promoted to one of the highest command positions within the Sheriff’s Office; the rank of Chief Deputy.

In January 2018, Chief Watson was appointed by Sheriff Cannon as Chief Deputy of operations. He managed the patrol division, traffic unit, criminal investigations division, metro narcotics unit, SWAT, Bomb Team, Marine Patrol, Training, Community Affairs, Recruitment, and Criminal Intelligence Unit or just a few of his responsibilities. In February 2020, Chief Watson was appointed by Charleston County Government to establish and serve as Deputy County Administrator of Public Safety. He now manages Charleston County Emergency Management, Search and Rescue, Emergency Medical Services, consolidated 9-1-1 Dispatch Center, Awendaw-McClenville Fire District, and he serves as law enforcement liaison for Charleston County Council.

Eric Watson holds an associate degree in Criminal Justice, B.S. in Criminal Justice Administration, and is currently working on his master’s degree in Leadership and Executive Management from Walden University. He is a graduate of the FBI Command College and the FBI National Academy. He currently attending the Department of Homeland Security Naval Postgraduate Executive Leaders Program. Eric serves as a special guest lecturer at the FBI National Academy. He sits on Trident Technical Criminal Justice Advisory Board, Board of Directors for Carolina Youth Development Center, Miller-Motte Criminal Justice Advisory Board, and he serves as Vice President on Father 2 Father, Inc. Board of Directors. Eric is a member of the Iota Eta Chapter of Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society, International Association of Chiefs of Police, S.C. FBI Association, FBI National Academy Association, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, S.C. Law Enforcement Officers Association and Police Executive Research Forum.

In his free time, Eric enjoys the Gym and spending time with family and friends. When people ask Deputy Administrator Watson to describe himself and what he enjoys most besides work, he does not hesitate to say my stress reliever is the gym, and first and foremost, he enjoys being a father and role model to his son. The best advice I can give a person is what my mother passed on to me “regardless of your struggles and successes, always remain humble and never use your circumstances in life as an excuse for failure”. I am, Eric B. Watson