HOT PURSUIT

Absolutely horrifying and gut-wrenching.

There really is no other way to characterize this past weekend’s shooting deaths of two Burnsville police officers and a firefighter/paramedic. It’s the worst assault on public safety heroes in a single incident in my lifetime.

Gunned down while responding to a domestic assault were officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth. The heavily armed gunman, Shannon Cortez Gooden, 38, later took his own life, authorities said. He had a previous criminal conviction and accusations of violent outbursts against women, and was barred for life from owning firearms. 

Having previously worked in a neighboring city, Lakeville, for many years, this especially hit close to home for me. I often assisted Burnsville police officers in various details over the years. My heart is broken for not only the families of the fallen officers, but also the rest of the officers who have to continue on doing their jobs in tough circumstances.

The Burnsville officer killings follow a deadly year for Midwest officers. At least six law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and North Dakota in 2023. Many others in Minnesota were shot last year but survived.

When is this chaos going to end?

Sadly, nobody can seem to figure that out.

I also ache for the community of Burnsville and the rest of Minnesota. These deaths don’t just impact folks who live in Burnsville. It breaks the hearts of all Minnesotans and beyond. It warmed my heart to see all the support throughout the Twin Cities metro area for the fallen heroes on Sunday as people lined bridge overpasses and freeways to show their respect. Many also showed up Sunday night outside the Burnsville police station to pay their respects in the city’s darkest moment. There certainly will be more of this coming later this week.

These deaths are pure evil and rip at the fabric of society. No police officer or any other first responder deserves to die doing what they’ve been so graciously willing to do in protecting and serving their communities. Speaking from almost 20 years of law enforcement experience, I know first-hand it’s not an easy job. I can’t imagine what it has been like in recent years with all the anti-police rhetoric people have been spewing all over the place.

All I can encourage anybody to do is support local police officers, firefighters and paramedics/EMTs. You may not think there is anything you can do, but a simple “thank you” to any of these public safety heroes goes a long way in easing the pain they are feeling now and when they go on doing their work in the future.

They never know what evil lurks around the corner. We’ve seen that in our local communities as well. Just last November, Dan Peach, a veteran Blooming Prairie officer, faced a situation where he stopped a motorcyclist who then shot and killed himself in the street as Peach was approaching him. This scenario could have gone ugly in many other ways, including Peach being injured or killed.

I’d like to thank all public safety heroes for going in hot pursuit of keeping us all safe from the evil in our society.