WYOMING, Minnesota — When the Wyoming Police Department placed mourning bands over its badges in honor of two rural Wisconsin officers killed in the line of duty last month, Chief Neil Bauer never imagined needing them two more times in just four weeks.
"I think it weighs on everybody's mind... a lot," Bauer said.
The four line of duty deaths in just four weeks in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, are outliers for several reasons but compound issues that departments in the region have been struggling with for years.
Kent Erdahl: "On a basic level, how do you mentally regroup with your staff when you're reeling still from the last death?"
Bauer: "We always wonder, who is going to get into this line of work at this point? It always has to be on all of our minds to think, is it still worth it? Is this risk worth it? Both my wife and I are in law enforcement and when I think of the that my daughters asked this weekend... my middle daughter last night was saying, 'I hope mom is in the office all night tonight.' She feels that that's safe, and she was asking, if she is usually in the office or is she out and about at night. How do you manage those questions, or how do you answers those questions for an eight year old? They shouldn't have to ask those questions. That's not fair to them."
Chief Bauer says he believes it's also not fair to assume that the questions raised in the wake of the killings come with easy answers for anyone in law enforcement.
"What's happening, it's really complex," Bauer said. "Mental health health is a priority and how do we address that? How do we address domestic situations, which are always going to be more dangerous? It is partially about the availability of firearms, it's about all these things combined. It's not one issue specifically."
While line of duty deaths in Minnesota remain rare, assaults against police have increased 140% from 2019 (467 officers assaulted) to 2021 (1,112 officers assaulted), which is the most recent year available from the Minnesota BCA. Firearms were also used four times more often during those assaults in 2021. But while gun control remains an point of emphasis in the Minnesota legislature and debate nationwide, Bauer says the calls don't stop.
"Regardless of what is going on around us, we're still here showing up to work and we're going to be there when you call 911," he said. "What happens beyond that isn't necessarily within our control."
He says the same lack of control applies to where these line of duty deaths have occurred. All four have taken place in rural departments with otherwise low violent crime.
"It can be anywhere, that's kind of what hits home for us here," he said. "We have a super safe community, really good supportive community, but our night shift officers are working by themselves. That's what concerns me too."
But at a time when staffing remains a major concern for all departments in the region, filling even one open position in Wyoming has taken nearly six months... and counting.
"Our open position right now, we've posted it three times since the beginning of the year," Bauer said. "We attended a career fair up in Alexandria, and as we were there, we found that 75-80 percent of the students that were even in the school already have job offers, so before they're graduating they already have job offers."
And after a month like this one, he's just hoping the next generation doesn't look away.
"I still love showing up to work every day, I think it's a valuable, worthy cause that we are doing," Bauer said. "You know, driving down I-94 yesterday, and seeing squad cars lining the freeway with my kids in the car, seeing the fire departments and ambulance services on all the overpasses, I think that, in some way, carries us forward. You see the support that's out there and you se that you are a part of something bigger."
Chief Bauer says he is also encouraged by the way in which many departments have come together to talk about these incidents and offer mental health support. He says Wyoming is among a large number of departments that now have yearly mental health check ins and cover several free sessions for employees to use for any reason through the year.
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