Faribault Police Chief Says Not All Pursuits Are Equal

John Sherwin has been the Chief of Police for Faribault about four months and was the guest on today's KDHL AM Minnesota Program at the Rice County Fair.

Sherwin told us he grew up all across the country attending 3 different high schools in his four years.

He went to collge in upstate New York and started a career in meteorology.

When he did decide to become a cop the first job was in Wichita, Kansas.

Sherwin's wife was from the Rochester, Minnesota area so they moved there and the rest as they say is history.

Sherwin became a Captain in Med City.  The couple has a son currently attending the University of Minnesota.

The Faribault Police Chief said a few months ago they signed the paperwork to build a new home in Faribault and just this week they started digging the basement.

We did not toss all softballs to the new Chief of Police.

I asked about vehicle pursuits, high speed chases.  I pointed to the recent event in Brooklyn Park that ended with the death of a 6 year old girl.

One could say it would have never happened had a high speed chase not ensued when officers tried to pull over a man wanted on a murder warrant.

Sherwin basically stated not all pursuits are the same.  In that Twin Cities case a dangerous criminal was still free and needed to be taken off the streets.

The Faribault Police Chief says his department would also pursue a suspect wanted for a major crime.  You can't have a blanket policy.

Sherwin likes what he sees in the Faribault Police force.  He says the department is filled with professional officers who care about the community.

Sargeant Matt Knutson for example did the legwork to start a Lights On Program.

Faribault officers have vouchers they can award to drivers they pull over for defective equipment like a broken light.  These vouchers are up to $200.

The chief stated lights these days are more expensive so hopefully this will help a lot of residents make ends meet.

There is more information about the program in the City Police Department Newsletter.

We discussed the incident a last week where a Faribault man held officers at bay for several hours in a downtown apartment after a complaint was made that he pointed a gun at someone.

Sherwin said the officers showed considerable restraint,

The standoff ended when a South Metro Swat Team tooked the man down with a non-lethal weapon.

The same night a man in Minneapolis had a standoff with officers after allegedly firing his weapon at someone.

He was killed by snipers.

Sherwin says like high speed pursuits there is no single way to deal with each incident except to say use of deadly force is sometimes required to secure the safey of officers and the public.

The Faribault Police Chief wears badge No. 1.  The badges Faribault Police are wearing are replicas of the sheriff's star of the wild west worn by local police in 1872 which was the year the city was incorporated.

Sherwin also likes what he has experienced from Faribault community members welcoming him to the city.

He told AM Minnesota listeners he wants to retire here in six to eight years.

He also reminded us about Night to Unite on August 2, 2022.

You can listen to the conversation in it's entirety below.  Enjoy!

https://serve.castfire.com/audio/3988565/3988565_2022-07-22-204305.128.mp3

Crime must be something examined for this.