Burnsville police and firefighters are closer than ever, months after rescue workers were killed in standoff

BURNSVILLE, Minnesota. — It has been five months since three first responders were killed in the line of duty in Burnsville.

police officers Paul Elmstrand And Matthew Rugetogether with firefighter and paramedic Adam Finsethwere shot while responding to a 911 call on February 18.

There are signs of it everywhere in the Burnsville Police Department: in hallways and offices and even in the garage.

A lonely picture of Finseth hangs on the memorial wall at Fire Station 1. He is the city’s first and only firefighter to ever die on the job.

“The grief doesn’t end, and certainly not quickly,” said Burnsville Deputy Police Chief Matt Smith. “People are still grieving, and that’s why we continue to take care of each other and make sure everyone is OK.”

Smith says the best way he and his colleagues honor the fallen is by going to work, and they’re able to do that thanks to the huge support of the department’s growing list of mental health resources, including a therapist’s phone number prominently displayed in the meeting room, the opportunity to exercise during a shift, and Doc the health dog.

“It’s hard to walk into a room with Doc and not see a smile on everyone’s face,” Smith said. “Doc just lowers the stress level.”

Smith said that the discussion about mental health has been normalized in the department and that it means a lot to him.

“If you’re not open and honest with people, they get upset and say, ‘No, I really want you to talk to me and tell me what’s going on,'” he said.

While these first responders consider how to help themselves and the community, Police Chief Tanya Schwartz and Fire Chief BJ Jungmann are considering how to respond to new challenges and threats.

“The questions I have are not about tactics. They’re not about whether anyone did anything wrong, because I think our guys did everything right. They did everything they could to save as many as they could,” Schwartz said.

“The question now is: What is the right level of protection for everything we do?” said Jungmann.

For police, that could mean having more armored vehicles and adding bulletproof door panels to patrol cars. Firefighters already wear some bulletproof vests and helmets, but they could start wearing them more often.

Both chiefs agree that joint operations and training will be the norm.

“They can teach us a lot about personal safety and de-escalation that we don’t learn in paramedic or fire department school,” Jungmann said.

“I mean, it’s really just give and take, and we’re learning, and I think what we’ve learned even more than before is that we’re all trying to do the same job, right? It’s about taking care of the community. Ultimately, we have to work together to make that happen,” Schwartz said.

“As terrible as February 18 was, I think the unity makes it pretty clear that we are all in the same boat,” Jungmann said.

Both departments plan to honor the men by placing their names on monuments in the Washington, D.C. area next year.