South Dakota reserve officers play key role during pandemic

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Tim Dahmen knew joining the Minnehaha County Law Enforcement reserves would be an opportunity to help out.

He didn’t think that would mean pulling a shift in the jail during a pandemic.

He’s one of about 20 police reserve officers the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office tapped to help with scheduling holes from COVID-19 related staffing issues.

When COVID-19 reached South Dakota, the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office asked the reserves if they’d be up to filing gaps should the pandemic cause staff shortages or excessive overtime.

That request proved useful quickly.

Since March, 47 inmates and 43 correctional officers tested positive for COVID-19. The number of inmate cases does not reflect the total number of people who may have been booked at the jail and later developed symptoms. and there have been no COVID-19-related deaths in the jail.

The Minnehaha County Jail trained 23 of the reserve officers to work in the jail if needed. Of those, six officers worked at the jail as of last week, covering over 52 hours at the jail and a variety of shift hours since May, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported.

While there wasn’t an entire shift of jail staff impacted all at once, it was important to have a group of extra trained workers, said Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy Jeff Gromer.

“We received some very beneficial assistance at some very key times,” Gromer said. “We were able to maintain our shift numbers and staff were not forced to work overtime to the extent we were fearful of.”

Police reserve officers normally spend their required minimum of eight hours per month of volunteer hours helping with special events or riding along with law enforcement, both of which were mostly halted during the pandemic. In 2020, many of those hours were filled in the jail and doing traffic control at the food handouts at the fairgrounds.

“When we were short of staff to the point where we couldn’t adequately staff (the jail)…they were a valued asset at that time,” Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead said.

About 40 people participate in the reserves and a class of new officers is going on right now, said Doug Blomker, assistant director at Minnehaha County Emergency Management. Candidates must go through more than 150 hours of training over the course of a few months and an additional three hours each month they participate, but that training isn’t jail-specific.

Dahmen went through additional training, including what to do during a fire emergency and how to do a wellness check. His shift was an interesting experience, he said.

“I was a bit nervous. You’re in a different role,” he said. “You’re there to keep everybody safe from others and themselves. It was different.”

Dahmen, who works full time in information technology, has been in the reserves since 1996. He joined after hearing about the opportunity through word-of-mouth, thinking it would be a good way to get involved.

“I feel like I’m contributing something, giving back to the community,” he said.