Sheriff earns spot in top national group

Outside of being elected sheriff of Steele County, Lon Thiele said he considers his most recent achievement as the greatest highlight of his law enforcement career.
Last week, Thiele was elected to the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (FBI-LEEDA) executive board during its 29th annual executive training conference in Fort Lauderdale.
“It’s always humbling when elected sheriff, but adding something on the national level is just as humbling,” said Thiele, who has served as sheriff since 2010. He calls FBI-LEEDA the “premier executive training provider for law enforcement leaders.”
Thiele will serve on the board for six years and eventually take over as the group’s president. He joins chiefs and sheriffs from Iowa, Maryland, Georgia, Missouri and Pennsylvania on the board.
Only two other Minnesota law enforcement officials have served on the FBI-LEEDA board since its inception in 1991. They are former chiefs of the  Brooklyn Park and Minnetonka police departments.
FBI-LEEDA, a private non-profit organization that is not part of the FBI or acting on its behalf, advances the science and art of law enforcement leadership and promotes the exchange of information to improve law enforcement management practices through training, education and networking.
Thiele said he went to the Florida conference to gain greater insight into training for his department. While he was there, he decided to run for the executive board “to be a part of what training is produced” for police officers. He defeated two other police executives from other parts of the country for the position.
Thiele first became involved with FBI-LEEDA when he graduated a few years ago from an FBI Trilogy course, which focuses on organizational leadership for police leaders.
Getting involved in extensive police training comes at a critical time in law enforcement, especially with the George Floyd killing at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis last year.
“I’ve always been active in this and with all the events going on across this nation with law enforcement drawing a lot of criticism, being active in this training is putting your voice forward,” Thiele said. “I’ve always attended training that would benefit my role as sheriff and the communities I serve.”
The sheriff said he gets excited every time he attends any FBI-LEEDA training. “Any time I come back from training, I always put something forward to make sure we are doing the best for our county residents,” Thiele said.
Thiele said the goal of FBI-LEEDA is to develop better leaders to assist all law enforcement personnel.
In regards to the Floyd killing, Thiele expects police reform to take place in Minnesota and the rest of the nation. “We need to make sure law enforcement is doing its job properly and it all reverts back to proper training,” he said.
Last year, Thiele took on a similar role by being elected to the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association executive board. He will become president of the MSA in a few years. Thiele wants to help in any way he can in training police officers.
“I am going to have a legacy of leading law enforcement in a better direction,” said Thiele.