As previously mentioned, the Northfield Police Department hosted a memorial service for fallen officers on Tuesday, May 17th at 4 p.m. The event was coordinated by our Northfield Chaplains, with special thanks to Father Bill Van Oss of the All Saints Episcopal Church here in Northfield for coordinating the event. The weather even cooperated by ceasing the rain, opening up the blue sky and exposing the sun long enough to complete the celebration of the lives of true heroes..
The event was attended by representatives of a number agencies who work with us such as the Hope Center, Northfield Human Rights Commission, local citizens and others. A number of our officers also attended the event. Councilperson Dixon Bond has been a faithful attendee since we started this project. This was a particularly difficult year given the loss of Sergeant Gerald Vick of the St. Paul Police Department, who was laid to rest last week. I have to admit it was difficult for me to get through the service this year.
Thanks to Griff Wigley and Northfield.org who posted pictures of the event on their respective sites. I also want to thank Representative Ray Cox for his supportive posting on his blog. On a broader scale, you might be interested in viewing what Nick Coleman in the Star Trib had to say about cops in his column the past several days.
Northfield resident and Eden Prairie City Administrator Scott Neal also posted a nice entry in his weblog about the Eden Prairie Police Department. A word of encouragement from city officials is always appreciated.
Thanks also to those of you who stopped by last week and this week with words of thanks and notes of appreciation. Our staff members really do appreciate your kind words and support. Also, I was told that the Faribault Daily News posted a notice of a service to be held in Faribault today by the Sheriff’s Department. Faribault Police held theirs on Monday. I was quite appreciative of the coverage provided by both the print media and electronic media in the metro area this past week and this week. We always receive outstanding support and cooperation with the Metro Media group.
Here are a few photos courtesy of our Community Service Officer Kris Wilson.
In my concluding remarks at the service, I asked those in attendance to think about how our communities convey their respect and support for their local law enforcement officers. Beyond words of appreciation, do our communities provide adequate facilities, vehicles that are safe to drive and funding to meet demands of a growing community? I challenged those in attendance to consider what kind of message our officers will receive this coming year. Public safety is more than a couple of lines in a budget and it certainly is not a zero sum proposition. Ours is a job that is labor intensive, expensive, and difficult to measure in that we are charged with preventing the very activities we are eventually measured by in “old school” 1960’s methodology.
As priorities are developed and set for our community in the coming year, I would encourage you to voice your support for your police officers and your police department. I am always happy to speak to groups and with individuals about our staff and department. We have much in which to be proud with respect to our department. We are one of two nationally accredited law enforcement agencies in Minnesota and only one of about 500 nationally. That ranks the Northfield Police Department in the top 10% of quality law enforcement agencies in the nation. That is no small feat given the challenges of the last several fiscal years.
Finally, I want to again convey my thanks and respect for the men and women of the Northfield Police Department. They have a demanding and difficult job. And I am proud to be associated with them.