By Lori EhdeThe charred remains of a Rock County Sheriff's Department squad car is parked behind the County Highway Department Building while local officials await word from the insurance company.The car was burned in a freak accident involving Deputy Glen Reisdorfer last fall.According to Sheriff Mike Winkels, Reisdorfer had pulled onto the shoulder of a township road northwest of Hardwick to write reports. When he put the vehicle in gear, "the shoulder gave way and he got hung up," Winkels said.When the deputy tried to free the car from the ditch, the exhaust system underneath ignited a grass fire, which eventually consumed the vehicle.The Hardwick Fire Department responded to the call at about 2 p.m. on Nov. 17.The 2000 Ford Crown Victoria had almost 95,000 miles on it and an estimated trade-in value of $5,400. Law enforcement hardware installed in the vehicle, such as radar and communication equipment, was valued at nearly $10,000.A claim was turned into to the Minnesota Counties Insurance Trust Fund, an insurance pool shared by a group of Minnesota counties.The local department will end up paying a $500 deductible, plus about $200 for miscellaneous personal items that were in the vehicle.According to County Administrator Kyle Oldre, the Sheriff's Department has had a bad year in terms of insurance claims.In 2003, squad cars hit two deer and a large raccoon (which caused considerable damage under a vehicle) and deputies were involved in a three-squad fender bender during a police chase in December 2002.There were a number of claims reported in the past 13 months, but Oldre said the total dollar amount of damage was relatively low, and it's fortunate no one was injured.
