Document - Historical information/data - Pat Geagan Chief Retires After Thirty Years of Service - 9/1/1999Chief Retires
After 30 Years of Service
ollowing a rather bad day at his job at the Minneapolis
Star & Tribune in 1968, Pat Geagan decided to apply
for a position he'd seen advertised with the Eagan
Township Police Department. Then Police Chief Martin
DesLauriers hired someone else for that particular opening, but
about six months later, when faced with another officer
position to fill, he remembered Geagan and called to offer him
the spot. This time Geagan turned DesLauriers down. Finally
in November of 1969, DesLauriers called Geagan again
offering a position and Geagan accepted.
Now, nearly 30 years and numerous promotions later, Pat
Geagan is facing retirment from his position as Chief of the
Eagan Police Department.
Geagan began as a part time Patrol Officer, one of eight
officers then serving Eagan. Officers worked between the hours
of 6 a.m. and 2 a.m. and took the squads home when they
were done for the evening where they were called to respond
from, as necessary. In 1969 and the early 70's Eagan was a
small, primarily agricultural community. Geagan jokes that,
"Not much happened back then. Sometimes our biggest
excitement was when a cow broke loose from its pasture. We
knew the community so well that we often knew where the
animals belonged and were able to return them."
Many of the roads were gravel then and the primary residential
developments were in the Cedar Grove neighborhoods in
southwest Eagan and Mckee and Highview neighborhoods in
the northern part of the city. "It was sort of a tangle -town and
a bit tough to get around in, so when you did get a call you
had to be prepared to handle it on your own --at least for a
while until your back-up could find you," said Geagan.
"People traveled pretty fast on the gravel roads then. Roads
were dark and curvey so the accidents we had were often
severe."
As the community grew, so did the police force, and, with it,
Geagan's career. In 1970 Geagan began full time and by 1973
he was promoted to Sergeant. At that time he helped to
develop a number of programs still in effect today including
Operation Identification. Geagan's Chief at the time, Martin
Deslauriers, recalls that, "Pat was always willing to take the
lead, whether it was with a new program, SWAT teams or in
investigative team training, often in addition to his work, Pat
went to school to continue learning more --I think he always
had a desire to improve his skills and prepare for bigger
things." In 1983, the year DesLauriers retired, Geagan was
again promoted to Captain. By 1989, following the retirement
of Chief Jay Berthe, Geagan became Eagan's third Police
Chief.
Fall
1999
Geagan has become a highly
respected member of the broader
police community and has served
as President of the Minnesota
Chiefs of Police Association and
the Dakota County Chief's
Association. He has also been
involved in numerous community
and non-profit associations.
Eagan and Chief Geagan achieved notoriety on a number of
occasions over the years, with high profile cases solved by the
Drug Task Force and in a case which ended in landmark
legislation being written involving an infant who had been
shaken. Eagan also set the standard of how public notification
can happen successfully when it hosted the first ever sex
offender notification meeting in the state.
Geagan has also worked hard at building a department that
reflects the diversity of the community. "We're not quite
there yet, but we were among the first communities to hire a
number of female officers and have hired many very qualified
individuals of color. I feel it's important that the department
reflect the make-up of the community it serves, whenever
possible." It is difficult to get Geagan to speak about the
things he is most proud of in his career, but he says if he has to
take credit, "It's for hiring good people and empowering them
to do thier jobs --and they have done them well. It's a
department I am proud to be a part of."
City Administrator Hedges notes that, "Pat Geagan has
provided great leadership while directing our Police
Department through many years of rapid growth. He has
shown the highest level of integrity and dedication and has
been a tremendous asset to our management team. His
contributions will be missed."
Search for New Chief Underway
n May, the City of Eagan hired two consulting firms
to assist in the recruitment and selection process for a
new Police Chief.
The search focused primarily in the Midwest area. Approx-
imately 40 applications were received. An interview panel
consisting of City staff, representatives of the Police Chaplains'
Group and the Crime Prevention Commission will interview
approximately 10 candidates. A number of these candidates
will also undergo a skills/aptitude test, followed by a final
interview selection process conducted by the City Council. It is
anticipated that the last round of interviews will take place near
Labor Day so that a new Chief can be in place in October.
