Glenwood City Police Chief considers himself “small town police officer”
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GLENWOOD CITY POLICE CHIEF JOEL KLATT
By LeAnn R. Ralph
GLENWOOD CITY — Glenwood City Police Chief Joel Klatt has worked in law enforcement for nearly 20 years and considers himself “a small town police officer.”
Police Chief Klatt began his duties in Glenwood City in September of 2022 as a patrol officer and then accepted the position of police chief in April of this year.
Before starting his position as patrol officer in Glenwood City, he worked for the Village of Granstburg as a patrol officer for 15 years.
The Tribune Press Reporter e-mailed a list of questions to Police Chief Klatt to find out more about him and his career as a police officer.
“I started my law enforcement career at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where I worked from 2004 to 2007. I have a bachelor’s degree in Law Enforcement from Metropolitan State University,” he said.
Police Chief Klatt is from the River Falls-Hudson area, and his wife is from Bloomer.
“I chose to move to the Glenwood City police department because my wife and I wanted to move our four-year-old son and six-year-old daughter closer to family,” Police Chief Klatt said.
“Glenwood City had so much in common with Grantsburg, where I had spent the last 15 years, that it seemed like the perfect department for me to transition to,” he said.
“I accepted the Glenwood City Chief’s position because, after 15 years working in a small town, I now consider myself to be a ‘small town police officer.’ And I feel that I can use that outlook on law enforcement to improve the relationship Glenwood City’s police department has with the community it serves,” Police Chief Klatt said.
Small town difference
Serving as a police officer in a small town is different than serving as a police officer in a large city in many ways.
“If we have to arrest or cite someone for something, we need to do it in a professional and respectful manor, because the next weekend, we may find ourselves in a physical altercation with another individual and, hopefully, that community member who may have had to be arrested the week prior, who is watching what is happening, will step in and help,” Police Chief Klatt said.
Assistance from the public could come in the form of someone who is watching the situation, knows the person with whom the police officer is interacting, and helps to subdue the person or asks that person “to calm down,” or assistance could come from someone “who knows something” and is willing to help in an investigation.
But assistance from the public is not nearly as likely if that person believes he or she was treated poorly the week before, the police chief said.
“Unfortunately, our backup could be 10 or 15 minutes away, and small-town departments need the community on their side if things go south while we perform our jobs,” Police Chief Klatt said.
“I hope to continue to improve on the relationships the Glenwood City Police Department has with our community partners and use those relationships to continue to work to improve the quality of life in our community,” he said.
Tragedy
As you might expect, there are many challenges associated with working as a police officer or a police chief in a small town — and then there is the unthinkable.
“One of the biggest challenges I’ve felt since I became the Glenwood City Chief of Police was on Saturday, May 6, of this year. I was only two weeks into the job, and I got a call that Deputy Leising had been murdered in the line of duty on our city’s front door,” Police Chief Klatt said.
St. Croix County Deputy Kaitie Leising was shot and killed near the intersection of county Highway G and state Highway 128 on the south side of Glenwood City after she responded to a call about a drunk driver who had gone into the ditch off Highway 128 at around 6:15 p.m.
“Being so new, I was unsure what I should be doing, not only to help the officers who were still on scene investigating the scene, but then afterwards, what I should be doing to help the community navigate through the tragedy,” Police Chief Klatt said.
“I got some good advice from my past chiefs and others whom I respect in the profession, and we made it through by being available for anything the law enforcement community and general community needed during that time,” he said.
The response of the community was one of disbelief that something like that could happen in their small town.
By Sunday afternoon, a memorial to Deputy Leising had been set up in the ditch on Highway 128, and the streets of Glenwood City had been lined with blue ribbons tied to light and sign posts.
Holy Cross Lutheran Church held a prayer vigil on the site where Deputy Liesing died the following Monday evening, and over 100 people gathered to pray along Highway 128. It was raining that evening, and photographs show people gathered with umbrellas and wearing raincoats.
As was reported in the Tribune Press Reporter, “Pastor Jonathan Zielske asked God to ‘give us strength of purpose and concern for one another, that we may create a community of peace where your will is being done … by the power of the risen One, Jesus Christ, I declare that the place on which we are standing is holy ground.’”
Some Glenwood City residents travelled to Hudson to pay their respects at her funeral, and the community also held fund raisers for Deputy Leising’s family.
Other challenges
Another challenge of serving a small town is that it is — a small town with a small police department.
The Glenwood City Police Department has two officers serving a community of 1,300 residents.
“The national average for law enforcement coverage is 2.4 officers per every 1,000 residents. We are at 1.5,” Police Chief Klatt said.
“The city is in a bit of a budget crisis at the moment, and it doesn’t look like we are going to be able to get back to three officers next year. That means trying to meet the scheduling needs of the community with only two officers,” he said.
“We are still expected to follow up with calls that come into dispatch while the department is not on duty, which means we have follow-up investigations getting divided up two ways instead of three,” Police Chief Klatt said.
Glenwood City is in the same position as many municipalities, whether it’s a small city, a village or a township or even a county.
The ever-increasing costs of paving streets and roads, maintenance on equipment and infrastructure, and insurance costs, for example, have outpaced the municipalities’ ability to cover the cost of expenses.
Spare time
In his spare time, Police Chief Klatt enjoys hunting, fishing, and gardening as well as spending time with his children.
“Lastly, I’d like the residents of Glenwood City to know that my office door is always open. If anyone ever has any questions about how an issue is getting handled or has any concerns in our city, I’m more than happy to listen and explain,” Police Chief Klatt said.
