Remembering MHPD: Jerry Murphy

Murphy, who has been with the department almost 50 years, shares his memories as a volunteer officer.

Editor's Note: This is the fourth of four articles from a series of interviews with some of the Mendota Heights Police Department's most experienced officers. The series will run this week, in honor of the department's 50th anniversary. The Mendota Heights Police Department was established 50 years ago, and part-time patrol officer Jerry Murphy has been with the department for almost as long. “It’s been a good ride,” said Murphy. Not long after the MHPD was created, Murphy responded to multiple emergency incidents, such as fires and inclement weather, as a citizen. It was then that Mendota Heights’s original chief of police, Marty Baldwin, recruited Murphy as the department’s first volunteer officer. Today, Murphy oversees the MHPD Reserve…

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Mendota Heights Police Reserves Earn President's Volunteer Service Award

The Reserve Unit more than doubled their hours volunteered from 2010 to 2011.

The Mendota Heights Police Department's Reserve Officer program has become an active addition to the department and the city, providing 3,361 recorded hours of service in 2011. That total is more than double the recorded hours of service in 2010, the second year of the program's recent revival. Seven reserve officers were presented with Presidential Service Awards Tuesday night at the Mendota Heights City Council meeting based on their volunteer hours with the city. Three of those honored received the award last year as well.  Reserve officers are non-licensed volunteers who provide support services to the department.  Residents can see reserve officers working at community events, helping with perimeter security and working as an extra …

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Danielle Cabot

11:28 pm on Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Thanks, Michelle! I'm sorry for the oversight.   more ›

The File Cabinet

Mendota Heights City Council Agenda For May 1

Planning for 2013 road construction, recognition of reserve officers are on the agenda.

The Mendota Heights City Council is scheduled to meet at 7p.m., Tuesday May 1 at Mendota Heights City Hall.  On the consent agenda, the council is expected to authorize feasibility studies for Crown Point and Overlook neighborhood street rehab projects, and Hunter and Orchard neighborhood street reconstruction projects.  Eight police department reserve officers will be recognized for volunteer hours, and the reserve unit will be honored for its contributions to the city.  The council is also scheduled to hear a presentation by Rogers Lake residents asking for weed control treatments. Staff has recommended the council wait until May 15 to make a decision following annual results of water testing by St. Thomas Academy students.  See the …

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Mendota Heights Patch Week in Review May 15-21

Banning gay marriage in the constitution, a school district referendum and a local taco stop were in the news last week.

Here's what you may have missed last week on Mendota Heights Patch: In Monday's Capitol Review, Rep. Rick Hansen (D-District 39A) and Sen. Jim Metzen (D-District 39) explained why they are opposed to the gay marriage ban amendment. The measure, which passed the Senate earlier in the month and passed the House Saturday night, will put a question to voters in 2012 whether to define marriage in the state constitution as between one man and one woman. The District 197 school board discussed a number of issues facing the schools at their work session Monday, including a fall referendum, a pay freeze for the cabinet and the fate of the Henry Sibley High School choir director's position. The Mendota Heights City Council met Tuesday. Four new …

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Mendota Heights Reserve Officer Program Grows

Four new reserve officers sworn in Tuesday bring numbers to seven.

The Mendota Heights Police Department began a reserve unit in 1967 to support the sworn police officers working in the field. The program fell by the wayside until 2009 when the unit was revived under the guidance of volunteer Captain Jerry Murphy, who was the remaining member of the original program. Tuesday night, the department swore in four new reserve officers. The Reserve Unit also accepted the resignations of two officers, who are leaving for family and work obligations according to Sgt. Brian Convery, bringing the number of police reserves to seven. It takes 42 hours of basic training in addition to volunteer time and extensive background checks to make the cut. Two of the reserve officers recently completed formal programs to …

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