2022 Eden Prairie Police Department Annual Report

EDEN PRAIRIE POLICE DEPARTMENT 2022 ANNUAL REPORT

April 2023

Chief’s Report Dear Mayor Case and City Council Members:

I am pleased to submit the 2022 Eden Prairie Police Department Annual Report to you and the residents of Eden Prairie. This report contains a summary of events and operations the Police Department undertook in 2022.

In a continuing effort to address mental health and substance abuse issues in Eden Prairie, we added an embedded social worker, Molly Mitley, to our department. The position is jointly funded by Hennepin County and the City of Eden Prairie. From Feb. 1, 2022 through the end of year, Molly opened 440 intake cases.

We also created the new position of Community Liaison Officer, which Officer Juliette Glynn was hired for. This position combines investigative duties with community liaison work, including working closely with our senior population.

We responded to 43,363 calls for service, which was an increase from 42,801 in 2021. There were no fatal vehicle crashes or homicides in 2022. A full list of statistics can be found on the last page of this report.

On behalf of the nearly 150 staff and volunteer members of the Police Department, I thank you for your continued support and look forward to serving you in the coming year as we celebrate 50 years of the EPPD.

Chief Matt Sackett

Chief Matt Sackett

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Eden Prairie Police Department is to

protect and serve

Department Values

 Provide customized the community of service to the community Eden Prairie through active

 Exercise discretion and and professional fairness in enforcement engagement.

 Build public trust in the Department

 Promote the professional development of its members

2022 Eden Prairie Police Department Organizational Chart

City Manager

Rick Getschow

Police Chief

Matt Sackett Captain

Chris Wood

Patrol Operations

Lt. Jess Irmiter

Airport Unit

K 9

-

Crime Technicians

Field Training Unit

Patrol Response

Retail Crime Unit

Reserve Unit

Special Weapons And Tactics Unit (SWAT)

Traffic Enforcement

Unmanned Aerial Systems

Investigative Operations

Lt. Rob Johnston

Chaplains

Community Liaison

Criminal Investigations

Domestic Abuse Response Team

Explorer Unit

Law Enforcement Analyst

Mental Health Unit

School Liaisons

Special Investigations

Support

Operations

Lt. Jen Ficcadenti

Animal Control

Code Enforcement

Emergency Communications

Center

Licensing

Professional Development

Records

Command Staff

City Council Members

Lt. Jess Irmiter, Lt. Jen Ficcadenti, Chief Matt Sackett, Captain Chris Wood, Lt. Rob Johnston

Lisa Toomey, Mark Freiberg, Ron Case, PG Narayanan, Kathy Nelson

Command Staff & City Council

NEW HIRES

In 2022 the EPPD hired six new officers: Eric Bromback, Steve Pantelis, Will Stuedemann, Allie Biermaier, Hunter Fricke and Dallas

Officer Eric Bromback Fisher. started in Eden Prairie June 6, 2022.

Officer Steve Pantelis started in Eden Prairie June 6, 2022.

Officers Bromback and Pantelis were sworn in by Captain Chris Wood June 6, 2022.

Officer Will Stuedemann started in Eden Prairie July 18, 2022.

Officer Allie Biermaier started in Eden Prairie Aug. 29, 2022.

NEW HIRES

On Nov. 14, 2022, Dmitry Ivanov started at the EPPD as a full time Community Service Officer.

Officers Hunter Fricke and Dallas Fisher were sworn in as officers by Chief Matt Sackett Nov. 21, 2022.

In December the EPPD welcomed Support Services Representative Paula Rylander, Records Specialist Amanda Webster and Records Specialist Brenda Lind.

NEW HIRES

Two new Reserve Officers were hired in 2022:

Dispatcher Tyler Hoyle started with the EPPD Jan. 7, 2022.

Dispatcher Megan Leek began working for Eden Prairie Jan. 21, 2022.

Phuc Duong

In 2022 Michael Crawford began serving as a volunteer Chaplain. He is a pastor of the Special Needs and Disability Ministry at Grace Church.

Amber Cleveland began as a volunteer Chaplain in 2022. She is a pastor with the Eden Prairie Assembly of God Church .

Michael Heiser

Chris Wood was promoted Rob Johnston was to captain Feb. 26, 2022. promoted to lieutenant April 23, 2022.

Erik Geronsin was promoted to sergeant May 21, 2022.

Reserve Officers Leta Stanley, Rossana Motta and Cole

Pixley were promoted in 2022.

DEPARTURES

Officer Chris Fietek retired in January after 22 years of service.

Officer Linda Graetz left in July after serving the EPPD for 19 years.

Officer Mo Ibrahim left the EPPD in July after five years of service.

Full-time Community Service Officer Louis Diethelm retired in September after 19 years of service.

PATROL DIVISION

In 2021 the City received an auto theft prevention grant from the Minnesota Department of Commerce’s Fraud Bureau. The department used the money to purchase portable license plate reader cameras that can be placed in areas where theft of vehicles and theft from vehicles frequently occur. Since being installed in December 2021, LPRs have assisted in the recovery of 22 stolen vehicles and 16 stolen license plates, along with 30 arrests.

Lt. Jess Irmiter leads the Patrol Division which includes eight sergeants and 38 officers.

There are eight Patrol Units as well as the secondary Airport, K 9, Crime Tech, Field Training, Reserve, Retail Crime, Traffic, SWAT and Unmanned Aerial Systems units.

In 2022 the department rolled out a new program called Neighborhood Police Officers (NPOs). As part of the program, the department has divided the City into sections and assigned officers to specific neighborhoods. The NPOs serve as primary contacts for various community groups, neighborhood associations, businesses and residents within their assigned neighborhoods.

PATROL DIVISION

For the third full year, Officer Chad Streiff served as a fulltime DWI officer thanks to a grant from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. In 2022 Officer Streiff made 155 DWI arrests and had eight Hat Tricks (three DWI arrests in one shift). Officer Streiff also received the MADD Gold Pin Award and was named to the Minnesota DWI Enforcer AllStar Team for the high number of arrests he made in 2021.

EPPD officers made 272 Driving While Impaired arrests in 2022, up slightly from 241 arrests in 2021.

Bill Hammes from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety with Officer Chad Streiff.

INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION

In 2021 the EPPD began working with Hennepin County to embed a fulltime social worker in the department. Molly Mitley started in January 2022 and since then has been working with EPPD staff on calls where someone is in mental crisis. Funding for the position is shared by Hennepin County and the City of Eden Prairie. From Feb. 1, 2022 through the end of the year, Molly opened 440 new intakes.

Lt. Rob Johnston began serving as the Investigations Division lieutenant in April 2022.

The division includes two sergeants, 13 officers and two civilian employees. The units comprising the division include Criminal Investigations, Domestic Abuse Response Team, Explorers, Law Enforcement Analyst, School Liaisons, Community Liaison, Chaplains and Special Investigations.

In March, Officer Juliette Glynn began working as the department’s community liaison officer, a newly created position designed to combine investigative duties with community liaison work. Officer Glynn spends approximately half of her time investigating adult protection reports and the other half serving as a liaison to the senior community and to community and cultural events.

INVESTIGATIONS DIVISION

Identity theft reports have decreased steadily over the past five years from 232 in 2018 to 140 in 2022.

In June, 130 campers and their counselors took over Riley Lake Park for the City’s annual Safety Camp. The counselors, who are members of the Police, Fire and Parks and Recreation Departments, helped their campers rotate through various safety activities including personal safety, power line safety, poison safety, internet safety, animal safety, bike safety, fire safety, street maintenance vehicle safety and aquatics safety.

SUPPORT DIVISION

In 2022 Eden Prairie’s 12 Public Safety Telecommunicators answered 43,363 calls for service ranging from death investigations (66) to medicals (3,241) to identity theft (140).

In 2022, the Licensing Division processed 574 licenses, down from 753 licenses in 2021. Last year’s licensures included 60 liquor licenses, 27 tobacco licenses, 48 peddler/solicitor licenses and 333 applications for permit purchase a handgun.

Lt. Jen Ficcadenti leads the Support Division which includes the Records, Emergency Communications Center, Professional Development, Support Operations, Community Service, Animal Control, Licensing and Code Enforcement units.

In August the EPPD celebrated Night to Unite with 157 neighborhoods hosting parties and donating 8,732 pounds of food to PROP.

SUPPORT

DIVISION

The Records Unit managed 16,703 records in 2022. In addition, the Evidence section of the unit processed 5,216 new pieces of evidence and disposed of 5,452 pieces of evidence.

Animal Control calls remained steady at just over 1,000 calls

per year during the past five years.

After taking two years off, Citizens Academy was back with 20 graduates who spent six weeks learning about police operations including the emergency communications center, traffic, DWIs, drones, investigations, SWAT, K-9 and negotiations. Citizens Academy is sponsored by the Eden Prairie Crime Prevention Fund.

RESERVES

EPPD Reserve Officers are adult volunteers who assist sworn officers by performing community service tasks and non criminal police functions. Reserve Officers also assist in natural disasters and other emergencies that require additional personnel.

Reserve Officer Cole Pixley playing in a water balloon game at this year’s Night to Unite neighborhood celebration.

Reserve Officer Boyd Hesdorffer answers questions about the department’s detention center during the Citywide Open House last fall.

Reserve Officer Michael Heiser graduated

(l-r) Lt. Jeff Irmiter, Reserve Officer Michael Heiser, Officer Emma Wax, Sgt. Cory Sinon, Unit Supervisor Boyd Hesdorffer.

EXPLORERS & CHAPLAINS

Police Explorers are young people ages 14–21 who are interested in law enforcement. Explorers gain working knowledge through hands-on experience, including weekly meetings and training sessions.

At their state conference in April, the Explorers earned a 1st place award in crime scene search and 2nd place awards in burglary response

The EPPD’s volunteer chaplains provide emotional and spiritual care to community members and public safety responders. Chaplains take turns being on-call for the chaplains were called out 16 times.

(l-r) Chaplains Paul Nelson, John Brecount, Bruce Goodwin, Ryan Tarman, Peter Johnson, Jim Erickson. Explorers & Chaplains

Officer TJ Henderson received the Chaplain Tim Power Award, named in honor of the late Father Tim Power who served as a Police and Fire Department Chaplain for 24 years before his death in 2016.

The award recognizes an employee who provides consistent care for people in the department and community and is awarded by the Chaplain Unit.

The Labor Management Team awarded Zoning Administrator Jim Schedin with the Civilian Employee of

the Year Award for his commitment to managing code enforcement and zoning issues in the City.

Officer Thor Carlson received the Labor Management Team’s Officer of the Year Award for his proactive work as a patrol officer and mentoring newer officers.

Records Specialist Alyssa Benkowski received an award from the Minnesota Office of Traffic Safety for her work in expeditiously turning around DWI paperwork.

Administrative Assistant Jenna Zwak received a City Manager’s Quality Award for being the point person for nearly everything in the department including the budget, special events and personnel changes.

AWARDS

In September the department’s SWAT team earned first place honors in the Top Team exercise and second place in at the Minnesota Tactical Officers s annual conference at Camp Riley.

In October, Officer Brandon Carlston received the department’ s Award of Valor for rescuing a man from an apartment unit that was engulfed in flames. Officers Brett Lindeman and Steve Velner received Commendations for their roles in the same rescue.

In February civilians Sydney Raley and Garrett Guzman each received a Letter of Recognition for saving the life of a woman who was choking in the McDonald ’s drive-thru. They are pictured here with Mayor Ron Case, Chief Matt Sackett and Miriam Swirski -Lubin, the woman whose life they saved.

In April the department’s juvenile diversion program, along with coordinator Randy Thompson, received the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association’s Excellence in Innovation Award for the program’s work with more than 1,200 juvenile offenders. Awards

(l-r) Mayor Ron Case, Randy Thompson, Chief Matt Sackett

AWARDS

In October, Officer Jayden DeVilbiss received a Commendation for his work in rescuing a man who fled from officers during a pursuit, then jumped from a bridge into a stream 30 feet below.

In October Officer Ryan Kuffel received the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Towards Zero Deaths Passenger Safety Star Award for her work as a car seat safety inspector and for securing funding to purchase car seats for families in need.

In November Officers Will Stuedemann, Gena Abramovich, Brandon Wenande, Brandon Carlston, Kyle Klein, Jeremy Riley and Leslie Perez, along with Sgt. Jerrad Biggar and Dispatchers Dennis Clark and Meghan Leek, received Commendations for their response to a shooting at Scheels on Aug. 22, 2022. The officers relied on their training and moved quickly and safely to contain the potential threat while keeping the public’s safety foremost in their minds. The dispatchers worked calmly and efficiently to manage responding resources while answering more than 67 incoming calls regarding the incident.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

At the 2022 Polar Plunge at Riley Lake, 593 plungers raised $160,756 for Special Olympics Minnesota.

In July the EPPD teamed up with the non-profit organization Let’s Go Fishing to host Cops and Bobbers.

They took 17 Eden Prairie kids fishing on Lake Riley. In the two hours they were on the water, the officers and kids hauled in (and released) 200 fish.

In August Chief Matt Sackett took a turn in the dunk tank at a Pop-up Splash Pad event at Nesbitt Park. The EPPD was there along with the Fire and Parks and Recreation Departments, and the Human Rights and Diversity Commission. The EP Crime Prevention Fund sponsored the dunk tank.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

At the Citywide Open House in October, visitors got to meet a “jailbird,” dust for fingerprints, drive a pedal cart to simulate impaired driving and watch a K -9 demo, among other activities.

In December officers and firefighters partnered with children for Holidays with Heroes, which included an afternoon

Eden Prairie Center, by lunch at Davanni same generous benefactor has funded eight years

Eden Prairie Crime Prevention Fund.

In December the EPPD collected toys for Toys for Tots and delivered them to the KARE11 studios, along

2021-2022 EPPD Statistics