Police Department
The Howard Lake Police Department continues to provide professional and courteous law enforcement to the citizens of Howard Lake. In addition, 2024 provided the department many opportunities to engage actively with the community.
The department maintained its active presence in the Howard Lake Waverly Winsted( HLWW) Schools through our School Resource Officer( SRO). Sgt. Darek Szczepanik is leaving the school after 15 years as the SRO and Officer Jacob Johnson will take his place. Jacob is glad to be in the schools this fall, where he will be an active part of the middle school and high school communities. In addition to his duties as the SRO, Officer Johnson will also participate in the Safe Schools Committee of Wright County. This partnership between the school district and the police department has helped reduce overall criminal and truant behavior incidents 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. Chief Thompson is currently serving as the Chairman of the Safe Communities of Wright County Board.
The department supported many major community events in 2024, including the
Wright County Fair, Good Neighbor Days, National Night Out, Faith and Blue, and other community events. In addition, the department looks forward to supporting a full calendar of events in 2025.
The department and 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 officials met bi-monthly to improve highway safety along the Highway 12 corridor from Wayzata to Cokato.
The department worked closely with and partnered with the Wright County Sheriff’ s Office, MnDOT, and the State Patrol to conduct several targeted enforcement events in the city, including distracted driving, seatbelts, hands-free phone usage, and pedestrian / crosswalk safety.
Additionally, the department again participated in the Toward Zero Deaths( TZD) traffic safety program in 2024. Minnesota TZD is the state’ s cornerstone traffic safety program, employing an interdisciplinary approach to reducing traffic crashes, injuries, and deaths on Minnesota roads.
As the department heads into 2025, we look forward to continuing to build upon the relationships within the community and with surrounding agencies that will help us to serve the residents of Howard Lake better.
PHOTO BY HLPD
Members of the Howard Lake Police Department posed for a recent photo.
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