Sheriff takes national stage in New Orleans

For Steele County Sheriff Lon Thiele, being sworn in as president for a national law enforcement organization and receiving a standing ovation was one of the most humbling experiences of his career.

On April 30, Thiele took over leadership of the FBI-LEEDA, an organization dedicated to advancing law enforcement leadership through premier training, education and networking. After Thiele gave a six-minute acceptance speech in New Orleans, he received a standing ovation from a crowd of more than 500 police leaders from across the world.

“It was just so overwhelming,” Thiele said. “Next to being elected sheriff of Steele County, this is one of the biggest highlights of my career. I’ll be working with leaders across the world.”

Thiele is the first police leader from Minnesota to lead the group since 1996. Thiele said he wasn’t aware of any other police leaders from Steele County to be represented on the national level.

While Thiele considers his accomplishment as a prestigious moment in his career, he is quick to point out the honor is not just about him. “This is for Steele County and the betterment of law enforcement all over,” he said.

In his new role, Thiele will focus on getting deeper involved with the training concepts and training programs made available by FBI-LEEDA for police leaders throughout the country. He pointed out how much of his presidency will involve Zoom sessions and Facetime without having to leave behind his regular job as sheriff of Steele County.

“My role will be leading the team on how we want our training for developing future leaders,” said Thiele, who was first elected to the FBI-LEEDA board as sergeant at arms in 2021. “We are focused on advancing the science and art of law enforcement leadership.”

One of the cornerstones of FBI-LEEDA is the trilogy program, which Thiele graduated from in 2014. Since then, Officer Dan Peach of Blooming Prairie Police and Sgt. Mike Smith and Sgt. Andy Seifert of the Sheriff’s Office have completed the same training. Thiele has been instrumental in getting all three officers through the program.

“We are creating future leaders,” Thiele said.

The sheriff noted how FBI-LEEDA is especially important for training because 85% of America’s police agencies are considered small with 10 or less officers. “We help agencies who have limited access to training needs,” Thiele said, adding Blooming Prairie is a perfect example of how the trilogy program is beneficial.

Public trust, Thiele said, is the cornerstone of policing. “As leaders, we must prioritize accountability, but you need community engagement and their trust,” he added.

Serving on FBI-LEEDA is a “ton of commitment,” Thiele said. “But you want to build this for generations to come,” he stressed.

Thiele said he regularly engages in “long and weird” hours to make things work with keeping up on his regular duties as sheriff while serving on the extra boards. “We are bettering public safety everywhere with this board that I am on,” he said.

He has been serving in law enforcement for 34 years and is in his fourth term as sheriff of Steele County. Thiele plans to run for another term next year.

“I love this job,” he says. “I’m going to give my deputies the best opportunity for training that they can get. Whoever steps up after I decide to leave will have the best training.”

Besides serving on the national level, Thiele is also high ranking in Minnesota. In December, he will take over as president of the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association, a position that former Sheriff Bill Hildebrant held 30 years ago.

“I’m trying to represent Steele County law enforcement all to the best of my abilities,” he said. “Being elected to these boards is a humbling experience.”