Lending Aid After Witnessing Events Unfold is Uncommon for Lakeville Police Officers

In public safety, it is a rare occasion that we actually witness an event as it is unfolding in front of us. Over the past 30 years, there have only been a few times that I can remember an officer actually seeing a motor vehicle crash occur right in front of them.

That is exactly what happened Thursday morning when the Lakeville Police Department’s Animal Control Officer Barb Maxwell was on her way to an animal call and came up to the intersection of 185th Street and Knollwood Circle.

While Maxwell was stopped at the intersection, she witnessed a serious rollover crash right in front of her. The crash occurred when one vehicle traveling on 185th

Street failed to stop for the semaphore and collided with a vehicle making a left hand turn. One vehicle flipped over and rolled multiple times before coming to rest upside down.

Maxwell quickly moved into action and advised the DCC Dispatch Center of the personal injury crash and requested EMS assistance. She positioned her Animal Control vehicle to protect the crash scene from oncoming traffic and activated her emergency lights. Maxwell then rendered first aid to the crash victim in the overturned vehicle, which was leaking gasoline, until the arrival of our squads on the scene.

After the patrol officers arrived on the crash scene, Maxwell assisted the injured crash victim in collecting her personal belongings off the roadway. According to

Officer Nic Stevens, who was one of the first patrol officers on the scene, both of the drivers involved in the crash were so appreciative of Maxwell’s response at the crash scene that they later thanked her verbally and with hugs.

After the scene was under control, Maxwell continued back on her way to the animal complaint call that she had been traveling to when she witnessed the crash.

By the numbers:

Activity for the week of April 14 through April 21:

Lakeville Police responded to 10 traffic crashes, 18 alarms, 28 animal calls, 24 medical emergencies, 9 thefts, and 211 traffic stops.

Fire calls:

We do not often have house fires, but our officers responded with Lakeville Fire Department units to .

Fortunately, no one was injured in either of the fires and Lakeville Fire Department units responded and quickly extinguished the fires. One house fire was reported in the early morning hours on Monday and the second fire was report during the daytime on Tuesday. Both residences sustained significant damage from the fires.

Leaders grow here:

We have been fortunate to hire and train very talented and dedicated men and women to serve as Lakeville police officers over the years and perhaps the greatest testimonial to the exceptional quality of our officers is the number of officers that have come out of the Lakeville Police Department to take on significant leadership roles in other law enforcement agencies, both locally and across the country.

There was an article in the Star Tribune this past week highlighting these law enforcement leaders, who were former LPD officers. Locally, our current Dakota County Sheriff, Dave Bellows, and former Dakota County Sheriff, Don Gudmundson, as well as Apple Valley Police Chief, Scott Johnson, all are Lakeville PD alumni. Nationally, former LPD Chief Steve Strachan is the Chief Deputy of King County, Washington and former LPD Officer Mike Parks is Chief of the Texas University San Antonio Police.

We are very proud of these former LPD officers as outstanding leaders in our profession, and I know that their legacy at LPD has served as an example for many of our current officers. We believe it is an important part of our mission here to help all our officers and employees to realize their full professional capabilities in the service of our citizens.

I know that many of our current officers will continue this tradition and move on to leadership positions both within and outside of our Police Department in the future.

Dumb criminal of the week:

Officer Doyle Cockrell responded to a local bank that reported a suspect had deposited a counterfeit check in an account under his name and withdrawn a sum of money.

Cockrell subsequently located the suspect at a house and arrested him and placed him in jail for theft and check counterfeiting. The suspect had no explanation as to how he came upon the fraudulent check.