Families spend time with Minnehaha County law enforcement

Deputies stopped for a photo before heading into Wal-Mart to shop with families for their first ‘Christmas with Deputies’ that was held on Saturday, December 11. (Photo/Sara Stadem)

Sara Stadem | Editor

For those that drove past the Wal-Mart on 60th Street North on Saturday, December 11, the scene was that of several Minnehaha County police vehicles lined up out front. If one ventured closer, you would have seen Deputies, Correction Officers and Reserved Officers with Santa Claus hats on, and one dressed as Santa, along with three families that were getting ready to take on the afternoon together.
The Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office had their first ‘Christmas with Deputies’ event that day. With the assistance of SROs (School Resource Officers), teachers and counselors, along with DSS (Department of Social Services), three families from schools in the rural Minnehaha County were randomly chosen to receive a few extra blessings this holiday season.
In addition to the SROs being in the area schools, the Sheriff’s Office has been looking for ways to have their Deputies get to engage more with students and communities, all while giving back. The Community Engagement Committee for the Sheriff’s Office, made up of local Deputies, came together to create this event to do just that.
Selected for the day’s activities was a family from Colton along with two families from Dell Rapids. Kevin and Siera Hanson from Colton along with their children, Landon, Jaceana and Joshua, Bobbie Bond from Dell Rapids and children Samantha, Joey, Delilah and Spencer and another family from Dell Rapids that would like to remain anonymous.
Those from Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office that were in attendance included two Correction Officers, Officer Lopez and Officer Hudson, four Minnehaha County Reserve Officers, Sgt. Hazelrigg, Officer Bartscher, Officer Roberts and Officer Warkenthien, and eight Deputies, Cpt. Zishka, Dep. Smith, Dep. Kardas, Dep. Larson, Dep. Cave, Dep. Kaiser, Dep. Tirrel and Dep. McGlothlen.
Saturday’s adventure with ‘Christmas with Deputies’ started with a shopping extravaganza where each family member paired up with one or more law enforcement to hit the aisles of Wal-Mart to go Christmas shopping.
Although each individual was able to shop for themselves for Christmas, some of those shopping chose to use this gift as a way to surprise their loved ones with gifts from them. While looking up and down the rows of Wal-Mart, one daughter stopped to look at an item saying, “I think my dad would really like this.” As the Deputy explained to her that she could use the gift card for herself, the middle school student simply responded, “I don’t ever really get to buy my family gifts and I can do that today.”
Once all the families were finished shopping, the adventures were moved to the Hartford Firehall where the families were able to share a meal with the Deputies. ‘Christmas with Deputies,’ with the assistance of Pizza Ranch in Hartford, provided pizza, chips and pop for the group to partake in while spending time getting to know each other.
At the firehall, the families had the option to take polaroid photos with a photo drop to look like a Sheriff, wrap their Christmas presents and make Christmas ornaments with Deputies. SRO Dep. Steven Lutter also gave tours of the firehall while explaining all of the service trucks the Hartford Area Fire and Rescue currently has to offer.
Before the families headed home, they were given one last gift. Each family was given a care package of groceries, gift cards and essentials so the blessings would be continued throughout the school holiday break along with a small Christmas tree to decorate in their home.
Detective Maria Munkvold, one of the leaders of the Community Engagement Committee, explained the feedback they have received on this event has been great. “Deputies, Correction Officers and Reserve Officers that participated in the event have stated that the event was very meaningful to them,” Det. Munkvold said. “They especially made comments to me that they are surprised a few of the kids bought personal hygiene products or gifts for someone else which definitely pulls at the heart strings.”
Det. Munkvold continued to explain that those from the Sheriff’s Office that were involved said it was less than shopping with cops but more purposeful and meaningful with being able to spend quality time with the families. Det. Munkvold said the event was described as festive and everyone was enthusiastic for it.
“Overall, they stated that they enjoyed the experience and for it being the first time of us putting this together, they thought it went well. I was proud of everyone,” Det. Munkvold said. She continued, “I was also very proud and thankful for Deputy Kardas (Deputy of Hartford) for all his work on the event. All our deputies and officers have such kind hearts and I was pleased to hear they all enjoyed themselves and are eager to continue to have events as this in the future. They stated there was a lot of smiles at the event and they enjoyed intermingling with the families.”
West Central’s SRO, Deputy Neville Smith said, “‘Christmas with Deputies’ had a “This is what it means to serve… and protect.” To serve is what we as Peacemakers signed up to do.” He continued, “It is in our ‘serving’ that protection may be necessary. To have been given the opportunity by the families to serve them outside of our “duties” is without measure.”
When asked what his favorite part of the day was, Dep. Smith explained the father of one of the families still listens to 90’s rap and mentioned some artists that gave Dep. Smith flashbacks to when he was younger. “A complete stranger, taking a stroll down memory lane (it was actually a Wal-Mart aisle but); you would’ve thought we grew up together,” said Dep. Smith.
The feedback from the families has also been appreciative and kind, Det. Munkvold explained. “I was in contact with them leading up to the event as well as after. The feedback they provided was that they are grateful and also hopeful that we can continue to do this in the future for other families to be a part of it as well,” said Det. Munkvold.
A mother of one family that has chosen to stay anonymous explained she loved the whole experience and her children are still talking about it. She shared that her favorite part was the get together at the fire station because everyone was able to communicate and hang out with each other. “They were all so helpful and nice. I couldn’t have asked for anything more,” she said.
The mom said, “I just appreciate the opportunity and to be able to do this with my children. My children haven’t had the best experiences with law enforcement due to things outside of their control.” She continued, “And no matter what Mom says and how many times I say that police officers are good, it’s hard for them to believe that. After Saturday, they want to stop and talk to every officer that we drive by now so their opinion has definitely changed for the better and that’s great to see.”
Bobbi Bond of Dell Rapids explained she thought the whole experience was great. She said one of her favorite parts of the day was watching her son pick out stuff and to see the looks on everyone’s faces was awesome.
“It was scary at first, and the funny thing is both of my children were scared, only because of their past,” Bobbi said. “I have actually seen most of those deputies out at my ex’s house so that made me nervous at first but I loved it and both kids loved it. It was just an awesome experience and the Deputies were amazing.”
Unfortunately, Det. Munkvold was unexpectedly unable to attend the events on Saturday. However, she did explain she was most excited for families and law enforcement to be together at the firehall. “I know that the shopping part is exciting but I honestly believe community policing is at the forefront of law enforcement and building stronger communities. The time law enforcement spent with the families at the firehall is invaluable,” Det. Munkvold said. She continued, “They get an opportunity to sit with all members of the family, talk with them about anything, enjoy a warm meal, do crafts together, and just spend quality time together. Those things matter more than receiving tangible items. I was also excited to give them their final gift of groceries and essentials which I heard was emotional for the families. It’s the little things that make the difference in life and we are more than happy to have done this for these three amazing families.”
Dep. Smith added this event was based solely on deputies volunteering. “Not one officer there was “volun-told” to be there,” Dep. Smith said. He concluded, “We did it because we wanted to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, bigger than our department, bigger than our county and that’s to, ‘Do unto others as we would want them to do unto us.’ After all, what’s the reason for Christmas?”
Dep. Kardas thought the experience was great and that it was really awesome to see families come and allow the Deputies to bless them. He added, “My favorite part of the day was seeing the kiddo’s bonding with officers. It was really great to see new relationships being made. Also, just seeing the joy on the families’ faces was priceless!”
Dep. Larson explained the event was humbling to see how much of a positive impact they were able to make. “We knew that we would have a positive impact on these families but none of us realized how it would impact us,” Dep. Larson said. “It felt amazing to be able to help these families out. We enjoyed the time we had to get to know these families in our community. They had a chance to get to know us on a personal level.” Dep. Larson explained that he thinks that will help them in the future because the families will know they can reach out to them for help. “I think these families helped us just as much as we helped them. In our line of work we often lose sight of what we mean to the community,” Dep. Larson added. He concluded, “When I was shopping with one of the children, he told me “It was like a dream come true.” That is when I knew this event was a success.”
According to Det. Munkvold, the Sheriff’s Office will be looking to do this event again next year in hopes to add more families to spread the holiday cheer and make more of an impact on the Minnehaha County community. Det. Munkvold continued to explain the committee hopes to start reaching out to businesses earlier so they can establish more sponsors, better organize the event and also have more participation from both the families and law enforcement.
Det. Munkvold concluded, “I just want to thank all of our sponsors, Wal-Mart, Hartford Firehall, Sunshine Hartford, Pizza Ranch, Subway, Eileen’s Cookies, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnehaha County Deputies Association. Everyone’s support definitely aided in this event being successful.”
Dep. Kardas said, “I just want to say thank you for the Minnehaha County Deputies Association for funding this event, the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office for their support, Wal-Mart on 60th St. N. for allowing us to use their store, Sunshine (Hartford) for the groceries and Pizza Ranch (Hartford) for donating lunch!” He concluded, “And especially Maria for coordinating all of this and all the hard work she put into this event. It really could not have happened if it was not for her.”
Kevin Hanson and his family could not be reached for comment before publication.