HOT PURSUIT
It saddens me to see that Minnesota has lost another member of its law enforcement community.
Pope County sheriff’s deputy Josh Owen was killed Saturday night on his 44th birthday while responding to a domestic call in the west central Minnesota community of Cyrus. He was one of three officers shot during the senseless act.
Sheriff Tim Riley said, “Deputy Owen had a heart as big as his stature. He leaves behind a wife and a son. He loved his family, his brotherhood and his community.”
Owen served Pope County for nearly 12 years and also served his country in the U.S. military.
Since January, seven officers in Minnesota have been shot in the line of duty in Minnesota. All but Owen have survived their injuries.
“This is an alarming trend that needs to stop now,” said Scott Mueller of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the state agency that investigates most officer-involved shootings.
Just across the border in Wisconsin, two officers were gunned down during a traffic stop over Easter weekend.
These deaths are tragic losses to society. No police officer deserves to die in the line of duty.
I was a police officer in both Iowa and Minnesota for nearly 20 years. I proudly served the communities I worked in and was blessed to never be injured on duty, though there were situations that could have turned very ugly quickly.
I have been to more cop funerals than I ever wanted to be. One of the worst experiences of being a police officer is mourning the loss of another brother officer. They are a grim reminder of how evil society can turn into. In the latest case, there is absolutely no reason why Owen’s widow and son have to experience such a tragic loss.
Cop killings are horrific for any community to suffer. The brutal killings rip at the inner fabric of society. It’s a personal loss for members of the community whether they knew the officer or not.
And this area hasn’t been immune to such violence. In 1951, Blooming Prairie police chief Neil Johnson was gunned down in a similar domestic dispute. He was shot six times. Johnson is the only law enforcement officer in Steele County to die in the line of duty. There have been several officer deaths in Dodge County.
My heart aches for the Owen family. I hope the rest of you will remember them in your thoughts and prayers. They certainly don’t deserve this.
I must admit with the level of record level of violence seen around the country, I am relieved to no longer be serving as a police officer. My family frequently reminds me of this as well. However, that doesn’t mean my support for law enforcement has changed in any way.
Cops have a tough job to do. They never know what they are walking into. Anything we can do to support them goes a long way in making the stress they face just a little more bearable.
Thanks to our officers, deputies and troopers for the work they do while going in hot pursuit of keeping the peace so the rest of us can enjoy life.