After a two-year delay, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office recently graduated its first class of citizens law enforcement academy.
Sheriff Evan Verbrugge organized the unique law enforcement class originally set to begin in March 2020, but because of the pandemic it was postponed until last month.
The citizens academy is a nationwide program that’s organized through local law enforcement to familiarize the public with what officers do.
“This is an opportunity for the public to meet with those that do protect and serve,” said Verbrugge.
“And get to know the deputies/sheriff on a one-on-one training to see who we really are — while getting a firsthand look on how the sheriff’s office works.”
Seven Rock County residents graduated March 29 from the first citizens academy. They are JoEllen Benson, Mavis Fodness, Mike Rofshus, Cody Lanoue, Mark Willers, Rick Peterson and Scott Deeb.
“I would highly recommend others to take this opportunity to get a real behind-the-scenes understanding of what it takes to be a law enforcement officer,” Rofshus said.
“This class gives us the opportunity to get to know our officers on a more personal level, which in my opinion is a very good thing.”
The graduates spent up to three hours on three consecutive Tuesdays at the law enforcement center in Luverne.
Participants toured the building and patrol cars and learned about equipment carried by deputies. Classroom time included information sessions conducted by several sheriff’s office deputies.
Sergeant Jeff Wieneke, investigator for the past 19 years, shared how he does his job and how technology has made distributing information easier.
Deputies Jeff Stratton, Chad Kempema and Lee Christians discussed the state’s Toward Zero Deaths program, use of force continuum, active shooter response and the civil process.
Two new deputies, Conner Braaksma and Dominic Castellano, were introduced.
Each nightly session ended with questions from the participants.
“I learned that being in law enforcement has many challenges and today’s environment is quite different from when many of our officers started in their careers,” Rofshus said.
“Knowing that every day they put on that uniform that they could possibly have to make a decision in seconds that has lifelong outcomes is not taken lightly.”
Verbrugge said he hopes the citizens academy strengthens communication between the sheriff’s office and the public.
“Once the public is comfortable with law enforcement, then they start to see things going on and hopefully will call into our office with concerns,” Verbrugge said.
“Also, we are striving for the community to trust the sheriff’s office and support us that, when things are being said, such as ‘all we do is just drive around,’ the citizens academy graduates can use their experiences to explain what the day-to-day duties of the deputies are.”
The next citizens academy is planned for February 2023.