State police commander transferred to Fayette
WAYNESBURG – Sgt. Steve Dowlin, a Greene County native who has commanded the Pennsylvania State Police barracks in Waynesburg for nearly two years, is being promoted to the rank of lieutenant and will now be overseeing police operations in Fayette County.
Dowlin’s final day in Waynesburg is today and he will begin his new role next week as station commander at the Uniontown barracks, one of the largest in the state.
He will be replaced as station commander of the Waynesburg barracks by Sgt. Thomas Maher, who previously worked in Uniontown.
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve as station commander,” Dowlin said Thursday. “I think we’ve built strong relationships with the community that will continue to develop.”
He began as station commander here in spring 2015 and pointed to several accomplishments during that time, including work with the criminal justice advisory board and formation of the county’s central booking center to hold suspects at Greene County jail.
“It’s been a blessing,” Dowlin said. “I’m proud of the work that the men and women of the Waynesburg barracks have done during my tenure.”
Dowlin, 41, lives in the Waynesburg area with his wife and their two young children.
Dowlin graduated from Waynesburg Central High School in 1993 and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree at California University of Pennsylvania. He left the area to work as a state park officer in Colorado before returning to serve as police officer in Morgantown, W.Va., for two years beginning in 2000.
He enlisted with the state police in January 2002 and has served at barracks in Washington, Uniontown and Waynesburg, and as an instructor at the Southwest Training Center.
This will be fourth time Dowlin has worked in Fayette County, so he’s familiar with the area and its crime issues. Dowlin said he’s looking forward to the challenges in his new role at the Uniontown barracks, which he said is one of the largest in the state and has a much larger caseload than in Greene County.
Uniontown’s previous station commander, Capt. Jeff Fisher, has transferred to role in the department’s research and development office in Harrisburg.