THE PODCAST SHERIFF

As a long-time public safety warrior, Scott Rose knows firsthand how losing police officers sends ripple effects through police agencies and the communities where they serve. Perhaps even more importantly, he has experienced how it leaves devastating emotional scars on the surviving families.
Rose has worked directly with fallen officers' families and agencies over the years. In dealing with those families he often learned more details about the heroes tragically killed in the line of duty.
And he felt something was missing.
The rest of the story, Rose said, wasn't being told.
To allow people to get to know and learn about the fallen officers and the era in which they served, Rose created the Officer Down Memorial Podcast. He began producing audio podcasts last November in his home studio, which resembles a broadcast booth similar to what's found at radio stations.
"I felt there had to be a better way of sharing their stories," Rose said.
During each episode of Officer Down, Rose shares the stories of how men and women heroically lost their lives in the line of duty. The podcasts are produced in a storytelling format based on input from the men and women who served with them and the families left behind.
They range in length from as short as 8 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minutes. Rose said the older cases are usually shorter because they have limited information.
The former radio broadcaster turned sheriff sets the stage by sharing historical notes from the era, taking listeners back in time and placing them at the incident.
And the stories aren't pretty.
They come with a stern warning that they may contain strong language and violent content, which may not be suitable for children and may upset some listeners. But Rose said he feels compelled to share exactly what happened.
"The mission is to tell the real stories of these men and women and ensure their service and sacrifice are never forgotten," said Rose.
He compiles data from agency reports. Without using his authority as sheriff, Rose makes public data requests for the information just like any other citizen is allowed to do. Older stories dating back to the late 1800s are compiled with data from various history archives, newspapers and agency data.
"I've never done a project that combines both of my professions," said Rose, who began his career in broadcasting and currently moonlights doing voiceovers for commercials around the country.
The project is currently a one-man operation with Rose doing everything, including the research, audio production, editing and hosting. The stories are released every other Friday. He logs in as many as 90 hours into producing a single podcast.
 
Supporting Families
One of the recent releases involves fallen Police Chief Gregory Lange, who was gunned down during a violent domestic disturbance near his Claremont home in 1988.
Lange's widow, Sue, has taken a special interest in the podcast and even learned something new after all these years.
Rose revealed in the podcast what happened just before Lange took his final breath from Rollie Spriggle, a retired sheriff's investigator with Dodge County.
"The hardest was to learn over 32 years later that Greg had a few moments of consciousness and actually spoke (after being shot)," said Sue Lange. "We didn't know that. Greg's death profoundly affected Rollie."
Sue Lange is appreciative of Rose's efforts with the podcasts.
"Every officer has a story that should be told," she said. "They are more than just a name."
Other families are also enjoying the podcasts, Rose said. "Several families have told me it's no longer taboo to talk about death," he said. "For so long, they stopped talking about it, and now families are talking again about the loved ones they lost."
Historically, Rose said, law enforcement has not been very good in dealing with surviving families of fallen officers. He said the profession is generally good at celebrating the fallen officers when they die and burying them but falls short in the long-term care of surviving families.
"They don't want the sacrifices to be forgotten," Rose said of surviving families. "The biggest fear these families have is that their fallen loved ones will be forgotten. You have to support these families."
 
 
Honoring Heroes
The goal of the podcasts, Rose said, "is to honor the fallen heroes, help us remember their service, remind us that we must always support the families they left behind and to never forget their sacrifice."  
Rose is intrigued by the stories he has uncovered by tracking fallen officers. Mostly, he is focused on showing how the officers were real people.
"They are the same people you see in the grocery store or restaurant," he said. "They are ordinary people that wanted to do extraordinary things to make the community safe."
In Minnesota, the podcasts are being added to the state's memorial website allowing readers to hear the entire story.
There are about 300 Minnesota police officers who have died in the line of duty, including 32 in southeastern Minnesota and four in Dodge County. The Dodge County officers who have died while serving include: Lange, Capt. Loring Guenther of the sheriff's office and Douglas Claassen and Ole Havey of Hayfield Police.
Steele County's only officer killed in the line of duty is Blooming Prairie Police Chief Neil Johnson in 1951. Rose plans to release his podcast in May when fallen officers are remembered as part of National Police Week. 
Rose's goal is to do podcasts of all of Minnesota's fallen heroes.
Besides Minnesota stories, Rose is currently working with agencies in Nebraska and Wisconsin. He has been tasked to put together 26 fallen officer stories for the Omaha Police Department.
 
Parole Assistance
Another mission of the podcasts is to help survivor families and agencies whose fallen officer's killer is up for parole. Rose shares their hero's story, which can be used to educate the entire community and region.
"The goal is education to encourage support of the family and agency," Rose said. And he hopes his podcasts will help encourage the community to get involved and send letters to the state corrections board in support of the fallen officer.
And it appears to be working.
The Robert Lawson story was recently used to help generate hundreds of letters to the Minnesota Department of Corrections to help encourage the board to keep the Itasca County deputy's killer in prison. In that hearing on Jan. 12, an additional 10 years was added to the killer's sentence.
Rose is careful in making sure everything is factual in the podcasts. He recently learned that Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell listened to the Lawson podcast before the parole hearing.
Cop killers today are sentenced to life in prison without the opportunity of parole. However, cop killers before 1993 were sentenced under the old law in which they have a chance at parole.
Rose said he didn't know a thing about podcasts before November. "I don't listen to podcasts; I listen to music," he said with a smile.
But now he's producing podcasts and determined to make a difference by honoring the fallen heroes who died protecting others.
 
 
 
Officer Down Memorial Podcasts
Dodge County cases:
• The Greg Lange Story
• The Ole Havey Story
• The Douglas Claassen Story
Steele County case:
            • The Neil Johnson Story (released in May)
More details: www.officerdownmemorialpodcast.com
 
 
About Sheriff Rose
• Grew up in Kasson
• Worked in radio before switching to law enforcement
• Second-term sheriff of Dodge County
• Board member of Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association and Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation of SE Minnesota.