With the retirement of police chief Tom Whitehead, the city of Slayton has chosen Jeremy Steinle as it’s new chief. Mr. Steinle began his duties June 21 and is honored to continue his service to our community.
Jeremy is a native of Brewster, MN and a graduate of Round Lake High School. He attended Iowa Lakes Community College, earning an associate’s degree in 2003. He then began to study law enforcement at Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Worthington, graduating in 2005. “After graduation I began as a part-time officer in Slayton, but six months later I was moved to full-time and I’ve been here ever since,” said Mr. Steinle. He doesn’t have any family members with law enforcement careers, but it was a long time dream of his own. “In the 1960’s my grandpa was the chief of police in Lamberton for a short time, but this is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Jeremy has not been disappointed with his choice of careers or with his opportunities CITY OF SLAYTON WELCOMES JEREMY STEINLE INTO THE POLICE CHIEF POSITION to serve in Slayton. He said, “There is good community support here. Slayton is one of the nicest places around. It’s clean and crime free - people want to live here.” He admits his profession has changed quite a lot in his sixteen years of experience. “We’ve always had training in mental health issues, but lately it has increased and we’re learning more about how to deal with people. We have fewer resources in rural law enforcement so we are almost always the first to intervene.” What Jeremy loves about his work is building relationships with people. “There is something new to do every day and I like all the connections in small towns.”
The city plans to hire a new police officer to fill the position Jeremy vacated, and then they will be at full capacity of four officers and the chief of police. Mr. Steinle stated, “I’ll work Monday through Friday, 8am-4pm, but we are fortunate to have twentyfour hour a day coverage.” Retired Chief Whitehead led the DARE program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) for many years at the Murray County Central Schools, but Chief Steinle isn’t sure yet how they will fill that void. “We want to find a way to continue that program. We have a good relationship with the school.” But Chief Steinle promises to maintain the excellent service we have come to expect in our community. “Most people are satisfied so we want to maintain things for now. Expect to see us involved and present.” The offices of the police department are located at 2223 Broadway Avenue, and the phone number is 507-836-6460.
