Progress - Law Enforcement

Minot Daily News

SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2015 Law Enforcement

Mountrail County facing a boomof a different kind, Page 2.

Ward County looking forward tospace problemʼs resolution, Page 4.

Minot Public Schools to get one moreschool resource officer, Page 14.

By TENDAR TSERINGStaff Writer

[email protected]

With crime on the rise inthe state, the Minot SWATteam in recent years has notonly increased its member-ship but updated its equip-ment with the latest arma-ment. Members also gothrough annual training inpreparation for any deadlysituation.

“Every officer receives atleast 100 hours per year forSWAT training for ourdepartment. They mightalso have to receive addi-tional training in specializ-ing in something else,” saidJustin Sundheim, com-mander of the Minot SWATteam.

“We normally train twicea month,” Sundheim said.

Besides handlingfirearms and learning newskills, the commander of theSWAT team said training tohandle stress is also a mustfor the team.

“We train how to handlestress, lack of sleep andlearn to work with the team– to be able to communicatewith the team, and decision-making skills during criticalsituations,” he said. “Theyalso learn how to collectinformation, how to move asa team, and how to move asan individual.”

Speaking about the

equipment, Sundheim saidhis team is fortunate to havesome quality equipment thathas provided them with amuch safer environment inrecent years.

As a part of updating itsequipment with the latestarmament, the team inrecent years has purchasedtwo SWAT vehicles, includ-ing one new barricade vehi-

cle and one new verbal com-mand vehicle.

“We are fortunate to havesuch equipment,” he said,adding that the vests histeam wears offer much moreprotection than the normalvest that the patrol officerswear.

The SWAT team has 24members including sevennegotiation members who

negotiate with the suspectsto resolve the issue peaceful-ly and two tactical para-medic specialists from theMinot Fire Department. Tobe prepared for any kind ofsituation, the SWAT teamholds drills at different loca-tions such as hospitals,schools and homes.

“We might throw in dif-ferent types of scenarios

depending on the situation.We use different kinds oflocations as part of that andafter the flood, we were ableto use those abandonedhouses for training,” said thecommander.

To be on the team, theminimum qualification isone has to be an officer for atleast 18 months and all ofthe SWAT members must

be volunteers. In order to beaccepted onto the teamprospective members gothrough several interviewsand test including physicalfitness tests.

“All SWAT members arepaid just exactly as same asthe rest of the police officer.It is strictly voluntarilybased and just extra duty,”said Sundheim.

Tendar Tsering/MDNThis photograph shows the Minot SWAT team having firearms training at the Ward County Law Enforcement Training Center in March, which is apart of the 100 hours of training that team members are required to through every year.

Preparing for the worst

Tendar Tsering/MDNThis photograph shows the two SWAT vehicles of the Minot SWAT team. The one on the left is known as a barricade vehi-cle and the one to the right is called a verbal command vehicle.

Minot SWATteam standsready toprotect public

By ANDREA JOHNSONStaff Writerajohnson

@minotdailynews.comSTANLEY – The

Mountrail County Sheriff’sDepartment is feeling the

effects of a slowdown in theoil business in Bakken, saidSheriff Ken Halvorson.

Halvorson sees anecdotalevidence that some of thepeople who have been laidoff from their jobs are stay-ing in the area, often because

they don’t have enoughmoney to leave. Some ofthose people get into troubleand wind up in theMountrail County Jail.

“We get them here in jailand they don’t have moneyfor bond anymore,” said

Halvorson. “We have to takecare of them ... they becomealmost wards of the county.”

Halvorson said he’s alsoseen an uptick in the num-ber of people who arebooked into the jail, at thesame time that the sheriff’soffice is hurting for man-power. However, Halvorsonsaid that’s the case with lawenforcement agencies allover the Bakken region.

“It’s hard to find people,hard to keep people onceyou find them,” saidHalvorson.

Some law enforcementofficers have been hiredaway by state agencies likethe Bureau of CriminalInvestigation and the StateHighway Patrol that canoffer better pay, saidHalvorson.

“When you get somebodygood, somebody (else) wantsthem too,” said Halvorson.

He said it is difficult tofind good, affordable hous-ing for young deputies in thearea, which also makes itharder to recruit lawenforcement officers.

Mountrail County has a12-bed jail and, on occasion,has had to use the PierceCounty Jail in Rugby for anoverflow of prisoners.

Halvorson said housingfemale prisoners can be achallenge as well, since thecounty must keep female

and male prisoners separat-ed.

For instance, if the jailhas only one female prison-er, it can take up four bunkssince they can’t put males inwith the females. If theymust transport a female pris-oner to another prison,Halvorson said a femaledeputy or another femalemust go along, which alsouses up work hours.

“We do not transport afemale without anotherfemale present,” he said.

Halvorson said he is see-ing more women beingarrested and jailed for vari-ous charges in recent years.

He said there are morepeople being charged simplybecause there are more peo-ple in the area. TheMountrail County Sheriff’sOffice deals with chargesresulting from fights, con-cealed weapons, drugs and

drunk driving offenses,among others.

The Mountrail CountyCommission is considering aproposal to build a new cor-rectional facility.

While it is up to the com-missioners, Halvorson saidhe can see a need for a newjail.

He also said he can see aneed for more training inareas like human trafficking.Ideally, instructors wouldcome to Stanley to offercourses or law enforcementofficers, since it is hard tospare personnel to attendtraining sessions out oftowns, said Halvorson. Hesaid it would also help dif-ferent agencies in the area towork together.

Halvorson praised theU.S. Border Patrol, whichhas a presence in Stanleyand is of help in dealingwith immigration issues.

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Minot Daily News PROGRESS

Saturday, April 25, 2015Page 2 Law Enforcement

Jill Schramm/MDNSheriff Ken Halvorson stands in the booking area of the Mountrail County Jail last January. The county hopes eventually to relace the jail with a larg-er, more modern facility.

A boom of another kindMountrail County jail population rises due to Bakken business slowdown

‘We get them here in jail andthey don’t have money for bondanymore. We have to take careof them ... they become almostwards of the county.’

— Mountrail County SheriffKen Halvorson

By TENDAR TSERINGStaff Writerttsering

@minotdailynews.com

It is so shocking for manythat these days almost every-thing in the United States ismade in China, but what ismore shocking is that thesedays many of the fake IDs inNorth Dakota, especially ineastern part of the state, arebeing traced back to China,according to the MinotPolice Department.

“One of the big thingsthat we have seen especiallyin the eastern part of NorthDakota is that there is socalled ‘Chinese IDs’ wherepeople send away informa-tion to companies in Chinatomake fake IDs. If you sendaway information to thesecompanies, they will makeyour ID for your state, but ifyou put these IDs on thisscanning device, it will sayyou are not from America orfrom North Dakota, it willsay you are from a place inChina,” said Sgt. MargieZietz, crime prevention unitof the Minot PoliceDepartment.

With the help of these IDscanners, law enforcementagencies have caught manyfake IDs across the state,especially in cities like Fargoand Grand Forks.

“Especially in collegetowns, NDSU in Fargo andUND in Grand Forks,” shesaid.

“You can get these fakeIDs for $100,” she said. “Wehave the ability with this(scanner device) to check forfalse IDs. So this is a prettyneat device ... we go throughthe bars and check IDs.”

Urging the bars in theMagic City to use thesedevices, too, Zietz said they

cost around $1,000 butcould save a lot of money ifa bar fails to meet the alco-hol compliance standard ofthe state or local law.

“So having this device isa pretty neat way of makingsure that you don’t have afake ID” Zietz said.

The Minot PoliceDepartment recently pur-chased several such devicesthrough a federal StrategicPrevention Framework StateIncentive grant, which wasawarded to First DistrictHealth Unit to addressunderage drinking laws andadult binge drinking in thecommunity.

Zietz said she wishes tobuy and sell these scannersto the bars in the city at a dis-counted price if they couldget some grants next year.

“We are not promisingbut just hopingwe could sellthese, maybe at half price,”she said.

The Minot PoliceDepartment conducts sur-prise alcohol compliancechecks in the city from timeto time and also holds class-es to educate bar owners andservers how to check identi-ty cards, and teach about dif-ferent alcohol laws in thestate or city such as who candrink and how much canone drink at a bar or houseparty.

“If someone comes intoyour bar intoxicated, don’tkeep serving them.We don’twant you to get sued or takecivil action,” Zietz said,adding if someone causes afatal accident after a houseparty the family of the vic-tim can sue the organizer ofthe house party.

“So, we teach all theseduring the server trainingclasses,” she said.

Zietz said bartenders inBismarck, Fargo and Grand

Forks have to attend servertraining but it is not manda-tory in Minot.

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Page 3Saturday, April 25, 2015 Law Enforcement

Tendar Tsering/MDNSgt. Margie Zietz of the Minot Police Department shows one of the ID scanners that the depart-ment purchased recently. The devices are mainly used to catch fake IDs or misuses of identitycards at bars in the city.

ID scanner traces fakeIDs back to China

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Saturday, April 25, 2015Page 4 Law EnforcementMinot Daily News PROGRESS



[email protected] Ward County Sheriff’s

Department is gearing up to tighten itsgrip on criminals in the county in thecoming years. In recent years the depart-ment has been forced to be a bit lenientwith some types of crime due to over-crowding at the existing jail.

“Here at the Sheriff’s Department, wehave several outstanding warrants ...(but) we don’t have space at this time.When we complete the jail expansion,we may assign additional labor to servethose warrants. We will be more aggres-sive to serve the warrants when we havethe space to put them in,” said Capt. BobBarnard.

According to Barnard, the depart-

ment has about 3,000 warrants on fileranging from serious cases to misde-meanors, and the department is forcedto prioritize the cases due to lack ofspace at the jail.

“We will be more diligent and moreaggressive when we have the space,” hesaid.

The District Court in recent years hasalso been more lenient to some extent inlittle less serious cases, such as Class Bmisdemeanors, according to theSheriff’s Department.

Amidst jail space problems last year,the District Court, in cooperation withthe Sheriff’s Department, decided to letpeople arrested for violations such asdriving with suspended drivers licensesor similar violations to simply signpromises to appear in court before beingreleased. Normally, anyone arrested forthose types of crimes would be physi-cally taken to jail and have either to postbond, guaranteeing they will appear incourt, or wait in jail for the next avail-able court date.

Once the jail expansion is complete,Barnard said the court will also likelyget more strict.

Barnard said that in his opinion, thecourt’s decision has helped the jail interms of reducing the number ofinmates but hasn’t solved the problem.

Treating Class B misdemeanor casesmore leniently with just a promise toappear in court has indirectly increasedthe number of inmates at the jail.

Usually, people who break the laware the kind of people who tend to breakthe law, said Barnard, adding that signa-tures for many of those people meannothing.

“Two schools of philosophy,” hesaid, adding there are people who thinkthat the court’s decision is the solutionto end the jail space issue.

The sheriff’s office this year has hiredfour new correctional officers and isplanning to hire some more next year asthe jail begins preparing for the largerfacility. Construction is expected tobegin this summer.

Ready to crack downSheriff’s departmentlooks forward to spaceproblem’s resolution

Correctionalofficersmonitor jailactivity froma controlroom in theWardCounty Jailon April 7.Jill Schramm/MDN

A correction-al officer with

the WardCounty Jailprocesses

paperwork ata central sta-tion April 7.Jill Schramm/MDN

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Missile security forcesNew camo,gear goesto airmen

Security forcesairmen performa trainingpatrol at MinotAir ForceBase. The air-man at the leftis wearing amulti-cam uni-form and theairman on theright is wearingABUs (AirmenBattleUniform),shown in thisAir Force cour-tesy photo.Submitted photo

By ELOISE OGDENRegional Editor

[email protected] AIR FORCE

BASE – Security forces air-men atMinot Air Force Basehave new camouflage pat-tern uniforms.

Airmen with securityforces at two other Air ForceGlobal Strike Commandbases – F.E. Warren AFB inWyoming and MalmstromAFB inMontana – as well asthe 620th Ground CombatTraining Squadron at CampGuernsey, Wyo., also aresporting the new OperationEnduring FreedomCamouflage Pattern uni-form.

They also have new per-sonal gear, according to AirForce officials.

In addition, the basereceived three new DodgeRam 3500s and 12 new FordF-150s in October 2014 as apart of the ForceImprovement Program’s ini-tiative to provide more posi-tive, rapid and substantialchangeswithin the intercon-tinental ballistic missile andbomber missions. As ofinformation released latethis past year, the base wasexpecting to receive nineadditional Ford F-150 pick-up trucks and two moreDodge Ram3500s. The vehi-cles will be used by 91stMissile Wing airmen whotravel out to missile sites forcrew changeover.

Air Force Global StrikeCommand also announcedin December 2014 that secu-rity forces airmen in thecommand are receiving theM-150 Rifle Combat Optic, anewer version of theAdvanced Combat OpticalGunsight.

The need for the newequipment and camouflagepattern uniforms was identi-fied through Air ForceGlobal Strike Command’snew Force ImprovementProgram or FIP.

The continuing initiativefocuses on identifying andresolving issues faced by theAir Force’s nuclear mission.

The 91st Security ForcesGroup commander at MinotAFB at the time when theuniforms and equipmentwere being reviewed about ayear ago felt the current pat-tern, the Airmen BattleUniform, or ABU, was notsufficient for the tactics andthe mission that the securityforces airmen perform in themissile field.

The goal of theOperational CamouflagePattern for the securityforces is to properly equipthem for various duties in awide-range of weather con-ditions and terrain.

The items include gener-ation III cold-weather gear,which provides seven levelsof protection against theextreme conditions encoun-tered at northern-tier bases,as well as new duty gear andpersonal protective equip-ment that has beenredesigned with the missilefield mission in mind.

Nearly a year after insti-tuting the program to makemajor improvements in howthe Air Force supports andempowers airmen with thenuclear mission, Secretaryof the Air Force Deborah LeeJames and Air Force GlobalStrike Command command-er Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilsonsaid, at a news conferenceheld at the Minot base Feb.20, that they are seeing thefruits of their labor. Theypointed out it isn’t a one-time deal, it’s a continuousjourney.

“My impressions fromthis trip is we’re movingverymuch in the right direc-tion and our airmen aretelling us that there aremany positive changes inthe works so I’m very, veryencouraged by that,” saidJames.

Maj. Gen. JackWeinstein,commander of 20th AirForce, with headquarters at

See GEAR — Page 7



F.E. Warren AFB, said at anews conference at MinotAFB in June 2014, the multi-cam uniform is better for theenvironment. “It also comesin several layers so whetherit’s a beautiful 90 degrees inthe summer in Minot orminus 42 in the winter, theuniform will be able to pro-tect our airmen,” he said.

Weinstein said airmenmade the recommendationsfor the improvements that arebeing done through the ForceImprovement Program.

The official wear date forthe new uniform was Feb. 9.

The Air Force also hopesto replace theUH-1Nhelicop-ters like those at Minot AFBwith Black Hawk helicoptersin the future.

Minot AFB has eight UH-1N helicopters.

The 54th HelicopterSquadron at Minot AFB sup-ports 91st Missile Wing byproviding security for convoymovements and in the mis-sile field. The squadron alsocan transport equipment andpersonnel, and support med-ical evacuations and rescuesearches.

Wilson said the Air Forcealso is making plans for othernew equipment or technolo-gy for systems as well asimprovements for the airmen.

Submitted photoMembers of the 91st Security Forces Group receive new Operational Camouflage Pattern uniform at Minot Air Force Base, Feb. 2, shown in thisphoto by Senior Airman Brittany Y. Bateman. All security forcesʼ members in Air Force Global Strike Command received the new uniform. Feb. 9 wasthe official date they could start wearing them.

New Dodge Ram3500s sit in a park-ing lot at Minot AirForce Base Oct. 29,shown in this photoby Airman 1st ClassSahara L. Fales. Thetrucks were boughtas a part of theForce ImprovementProgramʼs initiativeto provide more pos-itive, rapid and sub-stantial changeswithin the interconti-nental ballistic mis-sile and bomber mis-sions.Submitted photo

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[email protected] recent years, it hasn’t been

just law enforcement having a hardtime recruiting officers in theMagic City, even Minot StateUniversity is experiencing adecrease in the number of applica-tions for enrollment.

“Demand for qualified graduateshas increased. The police depart-ment, they have five openings butcan’t find five people for the job.Because there are other opportuni-ties –work in the oil field andmake$50 per hour – they’re not going tomake $50 per hour as a cop,” saidGary Rabe, a professor andspokesperson for theDepartment ofCriminal Justice at MSU.

“Twenty-five years ago, therewas one opening in the Highway

Patrol for the state of North Dakotaand there were 250 applicants forthe job. Right now, they can’t findenough people to fill the job open-ings. That’s exactly what is goingon. So students have those optionsto get employment without thefour-year degree,” Rabe said.

According to Rabe, almost all ofthe departments at the universityhave seen a drop in student num-bers but his department still hasthe maximum majors on the cam-pus.

Rabe said there are several otherfactors that led to low demand for

college degrees.“Due to flood issues,” he said,

adding the university was also avictim of the 2011 flood.

Then, the cost of living, he said,noting it has risen drastically withthe increase of population in recentyears.

In an effort to tackle that obsta-cle, the university has introduced“enhanced recruiting efforts,” hop-ing to seemore students enrolled atthe university.

Teresa Loftesnes, marketingdirector of the university said heroffice uses social media such as

Twitter, Instagram, Facebook aswell as more traditional media, toreach students. They focus on stu-dent success stories and eachweek, a new student is highlightedthrough their social network plat-forms. They also reach studentsthrough the automated email sys-tem and some messages are target-ed directly at college-age studentsin a particular geographic area,while others are geared towardthose students’ parents.

The admission team alsoattends local high school footballand basketball games to talk aboutadmissions at the university.

Beefing up its recruitmentprocess, the Department ofCriminal Justice had also startedpartnering with other colleges inthe state as well.

“We offer our complete degreein Bismarck. Students can do two

years of course at Bismarck StateCollege, and then do two yearswith us, but they don’t have tophysically come here,” said Rabe,adding one of their professors is inBismarck who teaches the stu-dents.

The department has also tem-porarily terminated its master’sprogram at the university.

“We have the master’s programbut suspended the master’s pro-gram as of now,” he said. “In orderto reactivate where we want to do,we put it on inactivation status twoyears ago. We wanted to find outwhat the new students’ interestswere and where we need to spe-cialize in offering the programwhere it really is going to benefitthe students.”

“It’s just a test to reflect wherewe going to go with that,” headded.

Help wantedMSU’s Criminal Justice department faced with waning numbers

‘Twenty-five years ago, there was one opening in the HighwayPatrol for the state of North Dakota and there were 250 applicantsfor the job. Right now, they can’t find enough people to fill the jobopenings. That’s exactly what is going on. So students have thoseoptions to get employment without the four-year degree.’

— Gary Rabe, Department of Criminal Justice, MSU

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@minotdailynews.comAs a part of the SWAT

team, there is a smaller,highly skilled and well-equipped unit trained tonegotiate with suspects dur-ing high-risk situations.

“We are a small group ofseven members which ispart of the SWAT team. TheSWAT team is the biggerteam. They have the snipers,the entry team and the nego-tiation team. I am the leaderof the negotiation team,”said Lt. Larry Hubbard.

When the SWAT team iscalled in for incidentsinvolving hostages, armedsuicidal subjects, clandes-tine drug labs or barricadedwanted subjects, it is thenegotiation team that tries toresolve the situation throughnegotiation.

“Basicallywe try to estab-lish contact, first of all, just

to explain, this is who I amand how can we resolve thistoday,” Hubbard said.

“Obviously, if the negoti-ation team is talking to them,they were somewhere eitherbarricaded inside some-where or they have hostage,they are the one that we aretrying to talk to come to asafe resolution for every-body,” he said.

If the suspect doesn’thave a phone, the negotia-tors get one to him so theycan communicate.

“We use our throwphoneif the other side doesn’t havea phone and if the other sidedoesn’t like women, and isin trouble because of

women, I would not let afemale negotiator to negoti-ate, I would send a malenegotiator,” Hubbard said.

As soon as the teamreaches the scene, they go towork digging up informationon the suspect to find outwhat he or she likes or dis-likes, who they might con-fide in and who they won’ttalk to or about.

It can take hours todefuse a situation dependingon those involved. And ifthe negotiation team cannotget a suspect to surrender,the final solution is breakingin and taking the suspect byforce, according to the policeofficers.

Smooth talkersNegotiators used in crisis situations

‘(I)f the negotiation team is talking to them,they were somewhere either barricaded insidesomewhere or they have hostage, they are theone that we are trying to talk to come to a saferesolution for everybody.’

— Lt. Larry Hubbard, Ward CountySheriffʼs Department

BombscareThe MinotBomb Squadsearched theentire VegasMotel April 17after a suspi-cious bomb-like item wasdiscoveredunder a toiletseat in a pub-lic bathroom atthe motel. Thedevice, whichwas not abomb, wasdisposed ofsafely.Tendar Tsering/MDN



Visions for the new jailThese photos show renderings

of the new $40 millionjail expansion approved recently

by Ward County voters.Above is the entrance perspective,

while at right is the viewfrom Fourth Street Southeast.

Submitted photos

By DAVID RUPKALVISEditor

[email protected] a fire broke out in a

corn field north of Minotlast week, the first person tonotice the smoke did notcall 9-1-1.Instead, the chief of the

Minot Rural FireDepartment drove outtoward the area, saw flamesand called emergency dis-patch and asked that theytone out the volunteer fire-fighters who protect muchof the area around Minot.Within five minutes the

first truck was en route tothe fire. Before long othertrucks followed. The menand women in those trucksleft their homes, jobs andfamilies behind to fight theblaze and protect the area.Just another day as a volun-teer firefighter in NorthDakota.At the Minot Rural Fire

Department, there are 34firefighters and four dis-patchers. They respond tobetween 200 and 300 calls ayear, and none of them getpaid for the work they do.The firefighters are all certi-fied by the state; the dis-patchers have decades ofexperience. They take theirjob very seriously. Andagain, none of them getpaid.For 60 years, volunteers

have protected hundreds ofmiles around Minot, pro-tecting homes, businesses,

grassland, farms and every-thing in between. They trainregularly, pay to get theirown certification and areready to respond in aminute’s notice. With a vol-unteer department, firefight-ers are not usually at thedepartment, so when anemergency is called in, theydrop what they are doingand head to the station.“From the time we get a

page until the time we geton the road, we usuallyhave five people here,”Rural Fire President FredColeman said. “If they’re nothere in five minutes, we’llleave with four.”Once the first engine

leaves the station, the vol-unteers continue to arrive.The first officer on the scenewill call in with neededequipment, andmore trucksand supplies will get on theroad.Before the day is done,

sometimes dozens of fire-fighters and up to 10 pieces

of equipment are at thescene. And when they’redone, every engine iswashed and dried, everypiece of equipment cleanedand checked and everythingleft ready for the next call.Such is the life of a vol-

unteer firefighter.At the Minot Rural Fire

Department, everything istop notch and state-of-the-art. Themain station, station1, was built in the 1980s, butit looks and feels like a newbuilding. The engine bayholds three engines, twotankers and an extricationvehicle. The primary engine,the first to respond in astructure fire, holds 2,000gallons of water. The nexttwo engines to respond aretanker trucks that can hold acombined 6,000 gallons ofwater. A back-up engine andtwo dual-purpose enginesmake up the main fleet. Thedual-purpose vehicles areused primarily in auto acci-dents because both carry

equipment to extricate peo-ple from badly damagedvehicles.Next door, the depart-

ment’s newest station, sta-tion 2, holds the equipmentused to fight grass fires.Three identical grasslandunits sit at the front of thebay, ready to respond whena grass fire erupts. There arealso two off-road vehiclesthat carry foam, water andfire hoses. One is alwayshooked up to a grasslandunit for a quick response.There is also a trailer carry-ing firefighting equipment,including 60 gallons of foamthat can be mixed withwater to make 6,000 gallonsof foam.Coleman said if an oil

tank caught on fire the trail-er and its equipment couldstop the blaze in five min-

utes.In grass fires, foam is

always the first avenue ofdefense because it works thebest, Coleman said.“With wildland fires, our

biggest problem is not thegrass, it’s the trees,”Coleman said. “With foam,the water will actually pene-trate the wood and put outthe fire.”The rural fire department

is funded through amill levyby Ward County. It covers alarge territory including thetownships of Afton, Eureka,Freedom, Harrison,McKinley, Nedrose andSundre.Coleman saidwith such a

large area to cover, one prob-lem firefighters encounteroften is a struggle to findspecific locations. With thatin mind, he asked anyone

who calls in an emergencyto give specific directions orto arrange to meet the fire-fighters and lead them to thearea. Coleman also wantedto remind drivers, the volun-teers are given blue lights intheir personal vehicles. If theblue lights are flashing, thedriver is almost always onthe way to the station torespond to an emergencycall. Coleman asks that driv-ers pull over to allow thefirefighters quicker access tothe station.Because the department

is funded through the tax-payers, Coleman said thedepartment works diligentlyto make the money stretchas far as possible.“Wedomost of ourmain-

tenance ourselves to keepthe cost down to the taxpay-ers,” he said.In addition, the depart-

ment is always looking forgrants to ease the financialburden. The department’slargest engine was fully paidfor with a grant.“We always try to write

grants to lower the burdenon the taxpayer,” Colemansaid. “Do we always get themoney? No. But when wedo, we try to get somethingthat helps the entire com-munity.”Coleman joined the fire



David Rupkalvis/MDNFred Coleman, president of the Minot Rural Fire Department, poses with a statue of a firefighter outside the departmentʼs station.

Protecting rural MinotMinot Rural Fire Department depends on volunteers

‘From the time we get a page until the timewe get on the road, we usually have five peo-ple here. If they’re not here in five minutes,we’ll leave with four.’

— Minot Rural Fire Department PresidentFred Coleman

See FIRE — Page 15

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Saturday, April 25, 2015Page 12 Law EnforcementMinot Daily News PROGRESS


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[email protected] Minot Police

Department is planning toadd one more schoolresource officer for the pub-lic schools in the city bynext year.

“We have to have a lot ofdiscussion, a lot of commu-nication, but ultimately, wehave to add one moreresource officer by nextyear,” said Captain JohnKlug, press officer for thepolice department.

As of now, Klug saidthere are two resource offi-

cers for the public schools inMinot and funded jointly bythe department and theschool board.

“We areworkingwith theschools right now and theywant onemore officer,” Klugsaid.

“Right now, the schoolfunds 75 percent and thepolice department picks upthe rest,” he said.

For the additionalresource officer, Klug saidhe hopes the funding formu-la will be the same.

“To me, that numbermakes sense but I wouldn’tcrash it if the number dif-fers,” he said. “It is a difficultprocess because our budget

process and school’s budgetprocess don’t line up intime.”

According to Klug, theschool board funds 75 per-cent for the school resourceofficers because technicallythe officers spend 75 percentof their time at the schooland 25 percent of time at thedepartment.

The two school officersare Sr. Officer Chad Fakenand Sr. Officer CaiseeSandusky.

Faken looks after CentralCampus, Ramstad MiddleSchool and Sandusky looksafter Magic City Campus,Jim Hill Middle School andSouris River Campus.

According to the police

department, the school offi-cers are meant to bridge thegap between the police andstudents, and between thepolice and the public.

“I don’t know if it is soci-ety in general (but) often-times, when people see alaw enforcement officer theythink there is trouble, thereis something bad going on,”Sandusky said. “We havethat opportunity to buildthose relationships and welove the opportunity get toknow a lot of the kids.Because then they start tosee you in a different way,”she said.

“Even ifweareoutside thejob, theywould call us by our

names and that gives kind ofjob satisfaction as well,”Sandusky said. Faken nod-ded his head in agreement.

The responsibilities ofthe school officers are said tobe as “resource officers” forthe school about lawenforcement issues and tosafeguard the schools, espe-cially during events andfunctions at the schools.

The presence of schoolofficers has been kind of anincrease in recent years fol-lowing a wave of gun acci-dents at the schools aroundthe country and about 20school districts in the statehave school resource offi-cers.

Minot Public Schools to get one more officerTendar Tsering/MDN

Senior Officer Chad Faken is one of the current Minot school resource officers for the Minot Police Department.

‘I don’t know if it is society in general (but) often-times, when people see a law enforcement officerthey think there is trouble, there is something badgoing on. We have that opportunity to build thoserelationships and we love the opportunity get toknow a lot of the kids. Because then they start tosee you in a different way.’

— Senior Officer Caisee Sandusky

department in the 1980s, atthe time becoming the firstblack firefighter in NorthDakota. During that time hegot to know a teen girl whowas there because her dadwas the chief. That girl isnow a volunteer dispatcherand her husband and sonare volunteer firefighters.

“I grewup in the fire serv-ice with my dad being thefire chief,” Kris Weber said.“Once you get in the fireservice, it gets in yourblood.”

As a dispatcher, Weberresponds to the stationwhenan emergency is called in.As soon as she arrives, shewill take over communica-tion from the 9-1-1 dispatch-ers.

“I know I’m that calmvoice on the phone,” shesaid. “I love the excitement.It’s very exciting.”

Coleman said the dis-patchers may be miles awayfrom a scene, but they havea very important job.

“The most important partof the dispatch is the dis-patcher looks out for oursafety,” he said.

Weber said in that veinshe is responsible for mak-ing sure every firefighter isaccounted for. At least onceevery 30minutes, shemakeseveryone stop to ensureevery firefighter is wherethey are supposed to be. Butthat is just the beginning.Dispatchers call for backup,ask for assistance if needed,communicate with utilitycompanies and more.

“Anything they need, wedo,” she said. “If they needthe Red Cross, we do it.”

While there are four dis-patchers volunteering withthe department, every fire-fighter is also cross-trainedto handle dispatch duties.Firefighters are also trainedto do every aspect of the job,whether it’s driving anengine or being in charge ata fire.

“The reason we have tocross train is we have tomeet our district boardrequirements,” Colemansaid. “Our district boardrequires we have a certainlevel of certification withthe state.”

Not an easy jobThe state requirements

ensure that volunteering isnot all fun and games. Infact the rules in place forvolunteers are very strictand require a lot of dedica-tion.

When someone is inter-ested in volunteering, theymust first fill out an appli-cation. And for most, theythen wait.

“We will be bringing onsix more,” Coleman said.“When I joined in 2009,there was a three-year wait-ing list.”

When a firefighter ischosen, they are given sixmonths to master all theequipment. By the timethat six months ends, everyfirefighter is expected to beable to respond and driveany of the vehicles to ascene.

Within 18months, everyfirefighter is expected to becertified by the state. Thatincludes 20 nights of train-ing with other officers,passing a written test and

demonstrating hands-onabilities to testers from theNorth Dakota FirefightersAssociation.

By that time, all fire-fighters are also expected tobe certified in CPR, firstaid, automobile extricationand Courage to be Safe.Once all the certification isfinished, the departmentstill requires training on aregular basis. As a group,the volunteer firefighterslog close to 2,400 hours oftraining every year.

The end result is a vol-unteer team that is welltrained and prepared tohandle almost any emer-gency.

“I have to say this, we’repretty damn good at whatwe do,” Coleman said. “Weare all professional volun-teers”

And to maintain thatprofessional atmosphere,the department has rulesno one can break.

“The thing about theMinot Rural FireDepartment is we havestrict rules,” Coleman said.“We have no alcohol in thebuilding. If you’ve had anyalcohol, even one beer,you’re not allowed on atruck. I’m proud to saywe’ve never had to kickanyone off the truck fordrinking.”

And it can be a big com-mitment. In 2013, the vol-unteers responded to 306calls.

“It was almost one aday,” Coleman said.“Sometimes we were fortu-nate to have a two-daybreak. I think the mostwe’ve had is seven in a 24-hour period.”

And in real crisis, thefirefighters are always there

to help. When Minot flood-ed in 2011, the volunteersworked for weeks to helpout. Many worked all day,slept a few hours at the sta-tion at night and returnedto offer more assistance.

And while helping thecommunity is always a pri-mary goal, the No. 1 goal inevery call is to ensure everyfirefighter makes it safelyback.

“We want everybody togo home,” Coleman said.“We have a two in, two outrule. If you go in, you havetwo go in with two peopleand come out with thesame two people.”

And despite the work,despite the challenges,most of the firefighters loveit. Their fellow firefightersbecome their second fami-ly. They work, sweat andlaugh together, which

makes all the work worth-while.

“I love this,” Weber said.“My son is fifth genera-tion.”

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Photos by David Rupkalvis/MDNScott Wilson, a volunteer firefighter with the Minot Rural Fire Department, gets ready to move afire engine. AT RIGHT, the shield of the department.

David Rupkalvis/MDNKris Weber, a volunteer dispatcher for the Minot Rural Fire Department,shows the equipment she uses when handling an emergency.

‘The thing about the Minot RuralFire Department is we have strictrules. We have no alcohol in thebuilding. If you’ve had any alcohol,even one beer, you’re not allowedon a truck. I’m proud to say we’venever had to kick anyone off thetruck for drinking.’

— Minot Rural Fire DepartmentPresident Fred Coleman

FireContinued from Page 11

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@minotdailynews.com

Despite repetitiverequests from several agen-cies, the Ward CountySheriff’s Department hasdecided to follow the foot-steps of the Minot PoliceDepartment and encrypt itsemergency radio frequen-cies for safety and securityof the officers.

There are two lawenforcement radio frequen-cies in Ward County whereuntil recently the publiccould listen to the conversa-tions of law enforcementofficers during burglariesand drug investigations butthe Minot PoliceDepartment has alreadyclosed down that facility,and the Sheriff’s office isindirectly spending around$500,000 to encrypt theradio frequencies, and sev-eral months from now, thepublic won’t be able listento the emergency channels.

“There are two lawenforcement radio frequen-cies used in the WardCounty. One belongs to theCity of Minot. They madethe decision to scramble thechannel or to create a chan-nel modification that nolonger allow people to hearthat radio traffic on theirscanners or cell phones,”said Capt. Bob Barnard ofthe Ward County Sheriff’sDepartment.

“Ward County has notyet done that but we will,once we are done with ournew radio system,” he said.

According to theSheriff’s office, on severaloccasions, officers failed tocatch the bad guys becausethe bad guys were listeningto the conversations of the

officers.

And Barnard said that isthe reason they are spend-ing so much money toupdate the radio system.

“I and many, many offi-cers had the situation,where you stop the car andwhen you get to the driver’sdoor, the driver is listeningto you talking on the phoneand when a dispatcher callsyou on your radio, youactually can hear it on thecell phone before than onthe radio,” said Barnard.

“Obviously that’s a secu-rity risk for the officers,”Barnard said. “During pur-suits, during drug investiga-tions, during burglaries,during house entries, day-light burglaries, it’s allbecome a consideration forsafety, security and hindersour ability to catch the badguys.”

When asked if they canallow the media in thecounty to listen to the radiosystem, Barnard said thatwould be a risk.

“I know there are severaltrustworthy people in themedia but it would be real-ly risky for us to do that,” hesaid.

Barnard acknowledgedthat the public who havebeen listening to their con-versations in the past havebeen great help in capturingwanted people but he saidbecause of the technologydevelopment, they have toscramble the frequencies.

“Weighing pros andcons, it’s a decision that wehave made,” he said.

Several agencies includ-ing the highway depart-ment have requested theprivilege to listen to theradio system but theSheriff’s Office has turneddown all requests.

County refusesrequest to keepE-scanners alive

Tendar Tsering/MDNThe radio scanner at The Minot Daily News, which had been a great help in covering local newsand getting out safety messages to the public in the past, now has no use since law enforcementoffices have decided to encrypt all of their radio frequencies, blocking public access to the system.

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