Trooper Schwindel named Peace Officer of the Year

It was a pair of tragedies, really, that brought Trevin Schwindel into law enforcement.
He grew up in St. Joseph, a small town about 10 miles west of St. Cloud.
“We had the Klinefelter incident, then the Jacob Wetterling incident,” Schwindel said, “and I think that kind of drew me to it.”
Brian Klinefelter was a young St. Joseph police officer when he was shot and killed while trying to arrest three robbery suspects in January 1996.
The abduction of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling as he rode a bike near his St. Joseph home in 1989 remained a mystery for nearly 27 years, before Danny Heinrich confessed.
Though Schwindel was just a child when both crimes occurred, they had an impact.
“I took a sidetrack, I guess, through the military, then became a corrections officer, and was finally hired at the state patrol,” he said. “But I’ve always wanted to do it since I was a little kid.”
He’s been a Minnesota State Trooper for less than four years, but Schwindel is already playing a major role in District 2100, which includes Steele County.
It’s been enough to catch the eye of Lt. Brian Buck, who nominated Schwindel for Steele County Peace Officer of the Year, given annually by the Exchange Club of Steele County.
He was presented the award at Friday’s Exchange Club meeting at the Owatonna VFW.
Schwindel “exemplifies what the Minnesota State Patrol stands for, and represents our agency well,” Buck wrote. “He is committed to public service,” proven by his willingness to speak to local driver’s education classes and teaching critical driving skills to the cadets in the state patrol academy.
In addition, Schwindel has been a background investigator for the agency’s last three hiring processes, tasked with investigating the backgrounds of multiple candidates and submitting a detailed packet for each candidate. His work helps determine if the applicant continues in the process of ultimately becoming a state trooper.
Schwindel has spent the last 17 years in the Minnesota Army National Guard; he deployed to Iraq from 2008-2010, based in Kuwait. He’s a sergeant first class.
He has his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and went to the patrol’s skills program as part of its law-enforcement training opportunity.
Schwindel lives in Owatonna with his wife and two children.
“It’s the best job I could ever want,” he said, after receiving the award.