The Detroit Lakes Police Department is seeing a few changes this month.
After the retirement of Captain Paul Goecke, Chief Kel Keena decided to restructure the department, having three sergeants rather than a captain and a sergeant.
The city council approved the restructuring at its March meeting.
With officer Tim Eggebraaten already a sergeant, two more needed to be promoted. Those two are K-9 officer Robert Strand and investigator Chad Glander.
There were four applicants from within the department for the two positions, and each officer was subjected to the Police Civil Service Commission testing. The other two officers were Eric Bergren and Chris Phillips.
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Testing consisted of studying seven textbooks, taking a 100-point test and enduring a one to one-and-a-half hour interview. Glander and Strand scored the highest on the testing.
Strand will continue his duties as K-9 officer, as will Glander as investigator.
The department also hired two new officers, Joe Steffens and Beau Shroyer. This is the first sworn position for both men.
Steffens is from Aitkin, where he has worked in the jail system. He attended law enforcement school in Hibbing.
Shroyer is originally from the Long Prairie area and went to college in Saint Cloud.
The two officers started yesterday (Tuesday), and Keena said they should be ready to work solo around June 26, just in time for Fourth of July.
All four of the positions are on a one-year probation basis.
Officer Brent Fulton was also appointed a permanent officer.
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"We've been running on seven or eight cylinders, but soon, we should be running on all eight," Keena said.
Eggebraaten has also gone through some extra training and graduated from Northwestern University's Center for Public Safety, in Shoreview, Minn.
He completed the 10-week staff and command program, which has graduated over 7,500 students both nationally and internationally.
Major topics Eggebraaten studied included management and management theory, organizational behavior, human resources for law enforcement, budgeting, staffing allocation and personnel deployment.
Students are required to take 18 written exams, projects and quizzes in addition to two research papers as part of the curriculum. Eight undergraduate credits can be awarded from Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.
"The Detroit Lakes Police Department anticipates a variety of benefits from Sgt. Timothy Eggebraaten's attendance at this program," Keena said in a news release. "Many of the program's graduates do go on to achieve a variety of leadership positions within their respective agencies."
More than 750 graduates hold the title of chief, and 39 of the 50 directors of state police agencies are also graduates of the program.
Cost for Eggebraaten to attend the program was $7,500. Keena said the department paid for the training through funds from the general budget, drug forfeitures fund and alcohol forfeitures fund.
