Sheriff's Office Newsletter - January 2022

January 2022 Newsletter (Volume 8, Issue 1)

To view each of the different stories in the newsletter, please click on the title below.

Note from Sheriff Torgerson

The end of another year causes me, like all of you, to reflect on the year that was 2021. Most likely it will be mostly remembered as COVID Year Two.  For law enforcement, we continued to do the work that our communities expect of us, facing the challenges of mental health, theft and victimization of our communities’ members by those who choose to prey on them. Our detention center staff continued their work in caring for and facing the challenges of those being held from society and working hard to help those detained in facing the challenges they will have later in life. 

The last month of the year always brings much promise and support to our communities beyond the work mentioned above. I’m always so grateful for our staff who give not only of themselves in everyday service to our communities, but the extra time in special events to support our communities. We kicked off the season with our office members right before Thanksgiving ringing bells for the Rochester Salvation Army throughout the month with their families. The first weekend of December we had several members participating and wrapping gifts for the annual Shop with a Cop event at Walmart. While others supported less fortunate kids by sorting and delivering toys for the Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots program. I was able to participate with other community leaders during a special ceremony of the annual Menorah Lighting with Jewish community members. Finally, a very successful Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Tip A Cop event was held at Glynner’s Pub in Rochester. I can’t be more proud of all of the staff who help out in so many ways during the entire year, much less at this time of year when the help and support are magnified so that everyone can experience a blessed Christmas season. 

And finally, of course, 2021 needed to leave us with a special gift in the form of a terrible and unfortunately deadly severe storm SE Minnesota experienced on December 15th. The storm left us with severe damage and no power for hours (some more than 48 hours) while outside temperatures dipped to single digits overnight. Captain Jacobson chronicles the event very well later in this newsletter on Page 2.

My wish for all in our communities is as always to have a safe and merry Christmas season and a happy new year.  Please drive safe and take care of your neighbor this season and always. 

May God bless you all.

Adult Detention Center (ADC) Training Division Update

Sergeant Maja Donohue

As we look back on 2021, I wanted to share a little bit about what the ADC Training Division has been up to.

Most of our training was completed online during the first six months of 2021, but as things improved with COVID restrictions, we were able to get back into the classroom for the first time in 18 months. Our staff was very excited at the prospect of getting back together with coworkers and resuming classroom training.

In August, we met in small groups to review our less-lethal team responsibilities and to practice with our equipment. We found that completing classroom materials online and meeting in smaller groups to practice hands-on techniques was more efficient, so we decided to stick with the same format until things improve with social distancing. Although efficiency is desirable in most situations, we also recognize that the classroom experience cannot be replicated online. For example, staff may have questions after a presentation and we frequently discuss recent updates or common scenarios as a group, which is difficult to replicate virtually. Therefore, it is our hope to resume large classroom training soon.

September was also a busy month. We completed our use of force techniques refresher and decided to try a different classroom format to mix things up. Traditionally, we train as one big group, which tends to be a challenge for instructors and staff alike. This year we divided everyone into groups of 6-7 people and had them rotate through six training sessions of approximately 75 minutes. Each training session was staged in a separate location to encourage participation and staff retention of material. Also, instructors were able to provide more individualized attention to staff, which worked out great for everyone. The new training format was well received, and we intend to finetune it for next year.

We also hosted three new hire academies. Compared to years past, we saw a noticeable dip in job vacancies at the Adult Detention Center, which meant we had to hire fewer people, 13 to be exact. 2021 was also the first year in which our colleagues on the patrol side of the Sheriff’s Office hired more people than the Adult Detention Center. We are currently working on wrapping up our last new hire academy of the year and are preparing a group of four new detention deputies to start on shift shortly after the first of the year. The Adult Detention Center invests an average of 500 training hours per new hire.

In all, 2021 was a vast improvement over 2020, but our hope is that 2022 will bring more normalcy into everyone’s personal and professional lives.

Deputy Scott Baker is Retiring

Sergeant Chad Miller

Deputy Scott Baker has announced his retirement from the Sheriff’s Office and will be embarking on new, exciting, and I hope relaxing, opportunities with family, friends, and a new professional endeavor.

Scott began his professional life with the United States Air Force in 1980. Immediately out of basic training, Scott undertook one of the most dangerous jobs within the military community, working and training as an Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Technician. In our many conversations, I learned that beyond what most of us think about regarding working within breathing distance of conventional explosives, Scott also was quite familiar with making nuclear weapons safe. I was in awe, but there was more. In addition to also being a Gulf War veteran, Scott’s 22-year career with the Air Force brought him to Washington D.C. in January of 2001 where he led a VIP protection team for the first inauguration of President George W. Bush. Again, I found myself in awe.

In 2000, Scott began his law enforcement service in a reserve capacity for the Weber County Sheriff’s Office in Utah and after retiring from the Air Force in 2002, Scott was hired on as a full-time deputy, working there until he began his career with the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office in 2005.

During his sixteen years here, Scott has served in the Patrol Division on several platoons including Power Shift and as an Acting Duty Sergeant. Scott was a prolific traffic deputy and a self-appointed and much appreciated civil paper service “go-to” for our side of the Patrol Division. Scott served on the Project Life Saver team and was an Intoxilyzer/DMT operator in addition to lending his extensive knowledge as a handgun, shotgun and rifle instructor and armorer for all three platforms including our Office’s only Springfield and 1911 armorer. Scott also leant his EOD expertise to the Sheriff’s Office on numerous occasions assisting with suspicious package investigations and our K9 Unit’s needs with their handling and disposition of explosive training materials.

I personally recall my first memories of Scott while I was still working as a deputy for the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office. I was in Rochester many years ago for an Intoxilyzer re-certification class and took notice of several Olmsted County deputies in attendance. Among them was one particularly squared away deputy I would later come to learn was Scott Baker when I began here at Olmsted County in 2008. Scott doesn’t know this, but when my life brought me to seek a new opportunity in law enforcement, my memory of Scott in that class played no small part in bringing me here.

I believe that Scott has left many of us with similar memories; his service to Olmsted County and this Office will be sorely missed.

Enjoy your retirement, Sir.

December Severe Weather brought everything but snow

Captain Jon Jacobson

Most people in Minnesota think of snow this time of year…not severe thunderstorms, hail, tornadoes, and severe winds! December 15th was most certainly atypical. High temperatures reached well into the 60s, melting most of the 10+ inches of snow that fell less than a week before. What was to come to Olmsted County in the evening hours was anything but normal winter weather. This storm came and went so fast (moving at a record speed of 75 mph), we are thankful the National Weather Service (NWS) – La Crosse, and all of our local media outlets were on top of broadcasting this storm’s approach to Olmsted County. Olmsted County Emergency Management partners with the NWS to provide continuous preparedness tips to the public. Prepping for this storm was a little different because of the significant impact that was forecasted coupled with it happening during the winter months. Our local media stations did an outstanding job of highlighting this storm in every broadcast throughout the day and featuring live coverage as the storm was hitting our area. Part of our preparedness was running a full test of our Outdoor Warning Siren system at 10:00 AM on December 15. These normally are not done during the Winter months since severe thunderstorms typically do not happen in our area, especially this time of year! As did the NWS and our local media outlets, we pushed out severe weather preparedness reminders throughout the day on our social media platforms and provided several interviews to the media reminding the public to stay Weather Aware!

So, what is the purpose of the Outdoor Warning Sirens? Olmsted County’s Outdoor Warning Siren system is one of very few independently operating siren networks in the State. What does that mean? In nearly all counties in Minnesota, when the sirens are activated, all sirens in that county sound. What can happen in those circumstances is you may have beautiful weather on one side of the county while the other side is experiencing severe weather. When the Outdoor Warning Sirens are activated in counties like these, people in parts of that county not experiencing any weather are left wondering, what is going on?  In Olmsted County, we can activate sirens in specific small cities, villages and parks throughout Olmsted County and quadrants (NW, SW, NE and SE) of the City of Rochester. When the NWS issues a warning of any kind, that warning area is usually specific, and we activate the Outdoor Warning Sirens based on the geographical areas that are affected or are bordering the affected warning area. Olmsted County will activate the Outdoor Warning Sirens based on a warning issued from the NWS for a tornado, confirmed winds of 70+ mph and/or ¾ inch hail. We can also activate the sirens based on confirmed sightings from Law Enforcement, Fire, or other documented Storm Spotter trained personnel. We had numerous inquiries regarding our Outdoor Warning Siren system from members of the public and media after this storm. The primary question was, why didn’t I hear the sirens in my neighborhood? For this December Storm, the NWS Tornado Warning area was not close to NW Rochester and the storm did not include SW Rochester and was moving to the Northeast, thus the Outdoor Warning Sirens were not activated in those quadrants. We did sound the Outdoor Warning Sirens in NE and SE Rochester, Marion, Chester, Eyota and Dover, which was consistent with the Tornado Warning area issued by the NWS. We hope the explanation of our unique system and NWS protocols brings understanding to those questions. Another feature unique to Olmsted County is that our siren network has battery back-ups. So, if power is lost, as is somewhat common in severe weather, the batteries go to work and allow the sirens to receive the activation signal and blare their tune. But what does that tune mean?

If you are outdoors, the Outdoor Warning Sirens are meant to alert you that severe weather is imminent and to seek shelter immediately. The Outdoor Warning Sirens will sound for 3 full minutes and if the weather continues to pose an imminent threat, we will sound them again. There are three (3) things that are important to remember about Outdoor Warning Siren systems no matter where you are. First, they are meant to warn those that are outside in populated areas that a tornado (or other extreme severe weather) is approaching and, when you hear them, to seek shelter without delay. If you live outside of populated areas, you more than likely will never hear an Outdoor Warning Siren. Second, the Outdoor Warning Sirens are not meant to warn those that are already inside a structure. There are 97 sirens across Olmsted County installed in populated areas. Some of those are very close to residences which, fortunately, or unfortunately, can be clearly heard indoors. Thus, the closer you live to a siren, the better you will hear it, both in and outdoors.  The sirens are installed based on sound studies and sirens must attain a certain decibel level at a specific distance for outdoor warning. The City of Rochester and our outlying cities, villages and parks do the best they can to maintain an overlapping system which is why you may hear more than one siren blaring during testing or actual severe weather events. Keep in mind, these are Outdoor Warning Sirens and are only meant to serve those that are outdoors during actual severe weather events. Last, there is no “all-clear” given. Just because the sirens stop blaring does not mean severe weather is no longer impacting your geographical area. Those that are already indoors or those that moved indoors should have another way to get up-to-date weather information, perhaps from your smartphone, NOAA Weather Radio, television, or radio.

The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office was deeply saddened by a storm-related death in Olmsted County on December 15.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Mr. Dickman. At the same time, we are also grateful for so many others that worked hard before, during and after the storm.  Again, thank you to the National Weather Service – La Crosse staff and all the local media outlets for keeping us informed and safe. The City of Stewartville was particularly hard hit with the widespread and prolonged power outage due to severe damage to primary transmission lines that power Stewartville. Thank you to City of Stewartville leadership and employees, Stewartville School District administration and employees, the American Red Cross and local Stewartville businesses like Fareway Foods and Kwik Trip for setting up and supporting a shelter for Stewartville residents during the aftermath of this storm. A special thanks to ITC and People’s Cooperative Services for working hard to restore power to the City of Stewartville. Nearly 40 poles were destroyed near Stewartville during this storm. Many of you would never know the number of resources ITC sent to repair the damage…it was quite impressive!  Many of their staff worked 24-hour shifts in the bitter cold wind to get power restored. It never ceases to amaze us the amount of help and support given to recovery efforts, no matter where disaster may strike in Olmsted County.

Senior Administration

Sheriff

Kevin Torgerson

Chief Deputy of Adult Detention Center

Brian Howard

Captains

David Adams

Samantha Reps

Macey Tesmer

Chief Deputy of Law Enforcement Center

Terry Waletzki

Captains

Mike Bromberg

Jon Jacobson

Tim Parkin

James Schueller

Chris Wallace