Loading...
Newspaper Clipping - Newspaper Clipping Scan - Police Chief Martin DesLauriers resigns after 30 years - 3/28/1983I EAGAN HRON /CLE a Current newspaper SECTION A Vol. IV, No. 13, Monday, March 28, 1983 Bringing you the news of the people, the neighborhoods and business of Eagan TWO SECTIONS Above and i t right are Police Chief Martin DPc Thn ph!icn + ri hf t. in 1965. c fal'ein Police chief resigns after 30 years, plans to become private investigator by Linda Hans( n As a kid, Pol ce Chief Martin DesLauriers once took a nei ;hbor's corn stalks, spread them across Hif hway 13, and stopped traffic by lighting then on fire. The prank ah nost landed him in reform school. "I was proba ply one of the world's worst kids," he said and shook his head ruefully. "I caused my folio a lot of headaches. "The story t1 at it takes one to catch one is probably legitin ate." Despite his early life of "crime," DesLauriers has had a long, successful career in law enforcement in Eagan. He started as the township's part -time con- stable in 1953, and became Eagan's first police chief in 1965. After 30 years on the job, DesLauriers has decided to quit and become a private in- vestigator. DesLauriers sat in his sparsely decorated of- fice last week, dressed in shades of blue with a small handcuff tie pin, and admitted he was going to miss being police chief. "I'm looking forward to getting out of it, but I'm going to miss it, I know I will." DES LAURIERS: to p. 19A 19A 1965 agan's New Police Car Rea READY FOR PATROL is the week -old car of the k' Richard LeMay and Don Smith and Chief Martin Eagan Police Department, shown in front of the new : ' DesLauriers. LeMay and Smith joined the force on town hall. Pictured from left to right are Patrolmen; - July 1. Not pictured is Patrolman Vern Letendre. re DesLauriers is p ctured above along with a 1965 news clipping. Chief DesLauriers: It's never been dull DES LAURIERS: from p. 1A Thirty years age, the job of con- stable involved vet y little police work, DesLauriers said. He said people ' vould call him at home to come and settle fence line disputes between f inners or to break up drunken brawls at the Halfway House. Having worked !n the family business of haulin;; milk cans for area farmers when he vas a youth, DesLauriers knew just about everyone in Eagan when he became constable. "Up to the earl! 1960s I would guess that I knew '18 percent of the people who lived it Eagan by their first and last name , where they lived, and probably who their family was. That's changed," le said and laughed. In addition to h ruling milk cans, DesLauriers served a stint in the Ar- my, worked on tilt' family dairy farm on Yankee Doodle Road where Fox - ridge Apartments tow stand, hauled fuel oil for Tripp Oil Company, and operated his own 1 andscaping busi- ness— Martin's As phalt Driveways. But after a few ; Tears of part -time police work, DesLauriers knew he wanted to make a :areer of it. During winters 'vhen his blacktopp- ing business had shut down for the season, DesLaurie -s took law enforce- ment classes offer( d by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehe tsion and the FBI. * * * DesLauriers bel eves he's been for- tunate to have live J and worked all his life in Eagan. "It's never been dull and I don't think it ever will b:." Looking back o 'er his years of work, DesLauriers said one of the rewards has been }laving people come back and thank hi n for his being tough on them wh :n they were acting up in their youth. "I can think of (bout four of them, young adults who have families now, who have come u<` and said they remember the wee :end they spent in "You never know when you come in here in the morning what you're going to be doing the rest of the day —it's never a boring job." Martin DesLauriers jail and how their folks pleaded and begged to get them out. And I told them, `Leave 'em sit there till Monday morning.' " He believes parents should be sup- portive of their children when they get into trouble, but they should let them take their lumps. "I think it would be the best educa- tion for a young person who's starting to get into trouble, if he could just spend a Friday night through Monday morning in the county jail with the big boys. A great percentage of these peo- ple would think twice about making a career of it." DesLauriers said he's always believ- ed in enforcing the law equally — regardless of whether the people involved were friends. He said one of the things that sur- prised him about his job was when some of the people he thought were good friends would suddenly become violent when involved in a police mat- ter. "Some of them never spoke to me again. But if you think back on it, they probably weren't such good friends." The job has also had its share of tragic moments. DesLauriers said he sometimes has flashbacks of bad ac- cidents he's been at where children have been injured and torches were needed to get them out of the car. "There are a lot of things you'd like to forget about. Time helps to put a lot of it behind you." DesLauriers said he was fortunate that he never had to shoot anyone, nor was he ever shot at. "But I had a few good tussles once and awhile," the burly chief said. And although he admits police work can be risky, he said other jobs also have their risks. "If you're serious about the jdb and if you're trained to the best of your ability...you should have the upper hand —if you keep your mind clear." Despite the long hours of work through the years, DesLauriers has managed to squeeze in some fun. He's admits to enjoying a "bump" (drink) now and then, and claims to be a good bridge and poker player. "My wife doesn't think I am, though." Other pastimes include golfing, which he.said he's become addicted to in the last few years, and horseback riding. He also likes to chop wood. "It's a good way to get rid of frustrations." * * * DesLauriers said his wife never seemed to worry much about the risks of the job, but she still didn't like his chosen profession. "I don't think Marie ever enjoyed it —she put up with it and she's done a hell of a job. "You can imagine how it was. Every weekend she could plan something, then the phone would ring and whoosh, I'd be gone. It wasn't the tnost family- orientating job." DesLauriers said he thought his son, Paul, and twin daughters, Jayne and Anne, also hated his job because of all the cancelled family outings. He was surprised when his son decided to become a police officer. Paul, now 25, has worked with the Burnsville Police Department for the last five years. "I never dreamed that he'd want to be a police officer. But I'm proud of him for it. I think it's a good profes- sion if you like it." * * * DesLauriers's tenure as police chief in Eagan is one of the longest in Min- nesota. With the national average stay on the job for a police chief reported to be five years, he's managed to beat the odds. But in his typically modest fashion, he gives the credit to others. He neglects to mention that he is liked and respected both within the department and in the community. DesLauriers believes that in many cities, the police chief's biggest stress is political pressure from elected of- ficals. But not in Eagan. "There's been no politics here. There really hasn't. From day one, I can't think of any pressure to hire a certain person or to get rid of anyone. "I've had a few recommendations," he said and chuckled, "but I've never felt the pressure in that part of the Police Department. In most cases, I wouldn't say in all, the City Council has never got involved in the actual operation, the personnel." The lack of political pressures, and the job's variety, have made his job enjoyable, he said. "You never know when you come in here in the morning what you're go- DESLAURIERS: to p. 22A The Eagan CHRONICLE, March 28, 1983 22A DesLauriers resigns DES LAURIERS: from p. 19A ing to be doing the rest of the day —it's never a boring job. "I enjoy the challenge of something coming up and you make a decision (he snapped his fingers), then you sit back and wait for the - - -- to fly." But the most enjoyable part of DesLauriers job has been the people he's worked with. "I've been fortunate here. P1l tell you, the biggest headache that most police chiefs have is dealing with the people they work with. And I can't say that. "There isn't one officer in this department that has been here for at least two years who couldn't handle any problem that came up in this city. They might need help, but they'd know where to get it and how to go about it. And that's a nice feeling —to have people like that here." * * * After April 30, DesLauriers, at age 51, will start his career as a private in- vestigator. His eyes light up with enthusiasm when he talks about his n1ans. He plans to specialize in doing background checks on people who apply for such positions as police chiefs and other department heads throughout the state. DesLauriers has sat on several boards involved in hiring police chiefs in the metro area, and he said there is always a problem of trying to find so- meone to check the backgrounds of the top applicants. He also would like to get involved in checking professional degrees and accreditations of job applicants in private industry. "In industry today, they are finding out that more and more people who apply for jobs are not who they say they are —they probably just want to get into the company to get some trade secrets." The variety of a job as private in- vestigator appeals to him, but he also looks forward to doing some traveling as part of the job. "Sounds like a good dream, doesn't it? It won't be boring work and I think I'll enjoy it." Police Chief Martin Des Lauriers in 1969.