The last couple weeks has been challenging for our officers at the Northfield Police Department.
Officer Craig Sammon and Sergeant Mark Murphy were injured after they stopped a carload of juveniles who had been drinking. It seems one of the passengers thought it would be cute to jump out of the car and take off. He found out our officers were serious and instead of getting cited for minor consumption, he got that as well as number of more serious charges.
A couple days later, Officer Mark Dukatz had stopped a driver who was driving aggressively. The driver was abusive and difficult to deal with. As Officer Dukatz was concluding the contact, the driver suddenly pulled away and inured Officer Dukatz. Officer Dukatz was able to inform Officer Jim Frie of the matter and they got the driver stopped again. One more time, instead of a traffic violation, the driver now has felony charges pending and wound up in jail.
Earlier this week, Sergeant Roger Schroeder responded to a call of a man with a gun. Upon arrival, Schroeder found the person with a loaded shotgun aimed at himself. Officer Mark Dukatz arrived to assist, and together, they were able to talk the person down and get him the assistance he needed. Schroeder’s and Dukatz’ calm response and expertise averted a very dangerous situation for the victim, the officers and the busy traffic in the area.
I appreciate the dedication of these officers and their willingness to take the risks necessary to keep people safe. The aforementioned examples are a reminder that policing is a dangerous job.