By Bruce Karnick

[email protected]

The Dakota County Sheriff’s Office is continually doing their best to serve the county as effectively, efficiently, and kindly as they can. Law enforcement jobs are critical to the safety of the community, and they are one of the most stressful and dangerous jobs in the world. Often, the work they do goes unnoticed to the general public, until departments started utilizing social media platforms to share their successes. Thankfully, DCSO is one of those that randomly shares those stories with us, often adding a little twist of lighthearted humor.

The disclaimer needs to be put in; all parties are assumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Three drunk driver apprehensions and a drug bust from a new officer. First, the drunk drivers.

This past weekend, Deputy Puls and Deputy Regenscheid were working hard to keep the roads of Dakota County safe. Between the two of them, they removed three drunk drivers from the roads. Deputy Puls observed one of the drivers swerving, crossing the fog and center lines at 10:00 p.m. That driver was pulled over and found to have a blood alcohol content of .22.

Deputy Regenscheid pulled a driver over for doing 57 mph in a 35 mph zone at 5:00 a.m. when he discovered the driver had been drinking. This driver also had a BAC of .22.

According to awareawakealive.org, Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) levels represent the percent of your blood that is concentrated with alcohol. A BAC of .10 means that .1% of your bloodstream is composed of alcohol. Explanation of BAC levels : .020 – Light to moderate drinkers begin to feel some effects .040 – Most people begin to feel relaxed .060 – Judgment is somewhat impaired .080 – Definite impairment of muscle coordination and driving skills.

See DEPUTIES Page 6 This is the legal intoxication level in most states.

.100 – Clear deterioration of reaction time and control. This is legally drunk in all states.

.120 – Vomiting usually occurs .150 – Balance and movement are impaired. Here the equivalent of a 1/2 pint of whiskey is circulating in the blood stream.

.200 – Most people begin to experience blackouts .300 – Many people lose consciousness .400 – Most people lose consciousness and some die .450 – Breathing stops. This is a fatal dose for most people.

The two drivers both deputies detained were behind the wheel above the level where most people begin to experience blackouts. This is a clear danger to other drivers on the road, job well done by both deputies!

Hastings area residents, please remember, when you go out drinking, be safe and plan a sober ride. The turkey in jail is rumored to be very dry and a little on the cold side. There really is no excuse for drinking in driving, especially in Hastings when we have awesome ride services available. Spending the five to ten bucks now can save you $20,000 in the long run. Call either 5 Ride Hastings at 612-814-1092 or Smart Ride 651-437-8997 for one of the commercial ride services in Hastings, check to see if an Uber is close or call a friend / family member, but whatever you do, do not get behind the wheel if you are drinking.

New deputy, Zeus and his partner Deputy Kurschner put their training to use quickly! On Friday, November 19th, Deputy Kurschner and his K9 partner Zeus graduated from the National Police Canine Association becoming certified in Patrol and Narcotics. According to the DCSO’s brief release, the pair were eager to start patrolling to be an asset to the patrol division and they wasted no time in proving that.

Eleven minutes into their first patrol shift after K9 school, Deputy Kurschner made a traffic stop. 30 minutes into Zeus’ K9 career, he found his first bag of narcotics. K9 Zeus alerted Deputy Kurschner and the vehicle was searched. A 1st Degree amount of methamphetamine was located inside the vehicle and an arrest was made.

K9 Officers are an extremely valuable asset to every force that has them. K9’s are extremely capable officers that do more than what Hollywood shows them to do. Yes, they can take down a bad guy trying to escape, but that’s only about five percent of what they do. Search is a large part of their job, be it drugs, explosives or searching for people, their sense of smell is a huge asset. The flip side of the job of a K9 is the fun part of the job, public relations. The majority of the world loves dogs, and it is quite common to see the K9 teams at public events both saying hi and showcasing skills.

Welcome to Dakota County Zeus! Great first day on the job!

Deputy Kurschner and his K9 partner graduated from K9 Patrol and Narcotics school on Friday, November 19 and began patrolling on Saturday. Congrats on passing the course and welcome to patrol! Photo courtesy of Dakota County Sheriff’s Office.