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St. Paul police name detective, officer, employee of the year
St. Paul's police chief on Thursday named a homicide investigator as Detective of the Year and a patrol officer who regularly recovers firearms and large amounts of drugs as Officer of the Year.
Sgt. Jennifer O'Donnell, a St. Paul officer of more than 30 years who works in the homicide/robbery unit, was the primary investigator on 156 homicides, robberies and aggravated assaults last year and assisted on more, according to her commendation. She was the primary investigator in the fatal shooting of Nicholas Sletten, 42, in the North End in October.
Murder charges were filed in January. 'This was a complex investigation that required ongoing intensive work,' said O'Donnell's commendation, which described her and her colleagues as working 'tirelessly' on the case.
Chief Axel Henry named Abdirahman Dahir as 2024 Officer of the Year. He grew up in St. Paul, became a Police Explorer at age 14, and later a St. Paul parking enforcement officer before he joined the department's police academy in 2021.
A patrol officer in the Western District, Dahir recovered 22 handguns, of which 3 were stolen and one a 'ghost gun,' and several thousand fentanyl pills during 18 stops last year that were either traffic or investigative, his commendation said, adding that last year 'was not an anomaly.' Dahir recovered 30 handguns the year before.
Richard Bertholf, who works in the police Video Management Unit, was recognized as Professional Employee of the Year.
When Andre L. Mitchell, 26, was shot and killed while two children were in his backseat in November, Bertholf 'immediately responded to multiple urgent requests to gather nearby video that may have captured the shooting,' his commendation said. He found videos that showed four people shooting at Mitchell and two suspect vehicles, and gathered information about suspects. Four people have been charged in Mitchell's murder.
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