SUBMITTED PHOTO
Le� to right: Reserve offi cers Chiero and Christensen, Offi cer Bonnick, Offi cer Rollins, Sgt Anderson, Chief Thompson, Offi cer McDonald, Offi cer Szczepanik,
and Reserve Sgt Ko� ke.
Police
Department
The Howard Lake Police Department continues to provide
professional and courteous law enforcement to the citizens
of Howard Lake. 2019 provided the department with many
opportunities to actively engage with the community.
The department maintained its active presence in the
Howard Lake Waverly Winsted (HLWW) Schools through School
Resource Offi cer (SRO) Darek Szczepanik. Darek provided a
regular presence in both the high school and the middle school
and also served as a DARE instructor. In addition to his duties
as the SRO, Offi cer Szczepanik also participated in the Safe
Schools Commi� ee of Wright County. This partnership between
the school district and the police department has helped to
reduce overall incidents of criminal and truant behavior by area
youth.
In addition to its role within the schools, the department also
participated in Safe Communities of Wright County which seeks
to act as a bridge of knowledge and communication between
schools, law enforcement, and other community entities within
Wright County.
Throughout 2019, the department remained active in its
support of all major community events including the Howard
Lake Chamber of Commerce Community Expo, Good Neighbor
Days, The Wright County Fair, National Night Out, and other
various community events throughout the year.
The department, along with the city, participated as a
member of the Highway 12 Safety Coalition. This group of city
and township representatives, law enforcement, department of
transportation, and other safety offi cials met bi-monthly in an
eff ort to improve highway safety along the Highway 12 corridor
from Wayzata to Cokato.
320.485.2535
The department worked closely with and partnered with the
Wright County Sheriff ’s Offi ce, MnDOT, and the State Patrol
to conduct several targeted enforcement events in the city
including distracted driving, seatbelts, handsfree phone usage,
and pedestrian/crosswalk safety.
Additionally, the department once again participated in
the Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) traffi c safety program in 2019.
Minnesota TZD is the state’s cornerstone traffi c safety program,
employing an interdisciplinary approach to reducing traffi c
crashes, injuries, and deaths on Minnesota roads.
As the department heads into 2020, we look forward to
continuing to build upon the relationships within the community
and with surrounding agencies that will help us to be� er serve
the residents of Howard Lake.
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