McLeod County Sheriff honors his own with commendations, awards

April 13 of this year involved a tragic murder-suicide in rural Silver Lake, but it also resulted months later in local sheriff’s deputies, a communications officer and a State Trooper being honored for their handling of the incident.

McLeod County Sheriff Scott Rehmann presented the office commendations and a letter of recognition to those involved in the April 13 incident at Friday afternoon’s annual employee recognition program in the sheriff’s office meeting room in the courthouse.

The office commendation went to Darlene “Dolly” Johnson, who received the 911 call from the victims’ oldest son, “who was obviously very emotional and distraught.

“… Johnson was able to keep her composure throughout this difficult phone call,” Rehmann said. “Communications Officer Johnson was able to develop a great rapport with the caller during this difficult time and was able to get information from him as well as keep him away from the horrific scene. … Johnson displayed tremendous compassion toward the caller and volunteered to call his relatives for him.”

Rehmann said dealing with a family in these types of cases is one of the hardest aspects of the job. “Communications Officer Johnson’s performance on that day went above the beyond what is normally expected, and brought great credit to the McLeod County Sheriff’s Office.”

Johnson received a certificate and a plaque.

The letters of recognition from the same April 13 incident went to Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Aaron Ward, Deputy Mark Eischens, Deputy Brian Stiles and Minnesota State Trooper Chris Fredrickson.

In his letter, Rehmann said that Ward and Eischens, after clearing the residence, worked to document and photograph the horrific crime scene. “They used great teamwork while displaying outstanding professionalism.”

Stiles and Trooper Fredrickson were assigned to watch after and take care of the children of the victims. The children had observed the aftermath of the murder-suicide. Rehmann called that “perhaps the most difficult task considering the circumstances.”

They were asked to “get as much information as possible from them (the children) without causing further emotional anguish.”

They also realized the children had not had anything to eat throughout the evening, and they bought the children food with money out of their own pockets, Rehmann stated.

“Both Deputy Stiles and Trooper Fredrickson displayed tremendous conscientiousness and compassion for the children during this extremely difficult time,” Rehmann said.

Both Stiles and Fredrickson received plaques and certificates.

Rehmann also honored other deputies and sheriff’s office staff for their work during the year. They included:

• Deputy Sean Cannon and Deputy Matt Rolf for their investigation of a burglary call and the theft of a Bobcat on Feb. 29. The detective work by the two resulted in several felony charges being filed.

• Detective Jessica Johnson, who investigated a report of possible child abuse on April 14 that resulted in the conviction of the father of the juvenile female victims.

“Not only did this investigation result in the father going to prison, it also resulted in the father losing any parental rights with the children,” Rehmann said. “These events would not have occurred if it was not for Detective Johnson’s professional performance of law enforcement duties.”

• On June 23, communications officers Elisa Dording and Leah Reynolds received a 911 call about a stabbing in Glencoe. Officers and an ambulance were dispatched. Both stayed on the phone and “were able to elicit vital information from the callers that was important for officer safety and the investigation of the crime,” Rehmann said.

• On Oct. 17, Deputy Jennifer Mueller was on patrol and located several burglary and home-invasion suspects. She contacted Sgt. Aaron Ward, who was off duty. Ward came on duty to assist Mueller and two suspects were taken into custody.

Joining them later were Detectives Joe Oliver, Ryan Verdeck and Pat Geiken. As a result, three suspects were arrested and charged.

All received letters of recognition.

• Sgt. Glen Rogers received a letter of recognition over a Nov. 11 incident. An out-of-state man was arrested and booked while he was traveling with his family, which included two small children.

Jail staff was notified the family had no money and could not afford a place to stay for the night.

The family was given a voucher for a place to stay and was assisted by local charities with obtaining food.

Hours later, after Sgt. Rogers learned the family still had not been able to contact anyone for assistance, he took money out of his own pocket to purchase food and deliver it to the family.

“Sgt. Rogers went above and beyond what is expected of him,” Rehmann said.

• Barb Rieger received an office commendation for her work in developing and implementing the mobile computers in the department’s squad cars that begin in 2005.

“Barb has shown extreme dedication and willingness to do whatever was necessary to make the project a success,” Rehmann said.

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