Kandiyohi County Sheriffs Posse Inc.

The Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Auxiliary was formed in 1961. The name was changed to Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Posse and is currently the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Reserve. This is a volunteer group where originally members were required to own horses and associated equipment to participate. However, as the Reserve unit evolved into various other functions, the requirement to own horses is no longer. Horses were primarily used for search and rescue and crowd control. They also held events at the county fairgrounds, such as horse racing and rodeos to raise money for the group. They also represented the Sheriff’s Office in community events within the county, such as Ridgewater graduation parking and area parades.

This group continues to be a volunteer group and became a Minnesota Nonprofit Corporation in 1980 and in 1994, received its Federal Tax Exempt 501©3 status. The definition of the word volunteer is, “One who enters a service of his own free choice. To offer, do, or go voluntarily.” The men and women of the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Reserve until truly meet that definition. They do not get any type of compensation or retirement benefits from the County. They do it because they want to help keep our community safe.

Currently, the Reserves is a foot and patrol unit and has a marked squad car that is assigned to them. This patrol unit is used by Reserve members to conduct patrol duties throughout Kandiyohi County and perform house checks for community members who may be snowbirds or gone on vacation. The Reserves are also an extra set of eyes, which allows the deputies to stay available to answer calls for service. They assist deputies with traffic stops, accidents, and other emergency calls as requested.

Reserve members at their convenience, or at the request of the Sheriff, participate as the second person in a squad car during regular shifts or special events. The Reserves also support deputies on water patrol duty on the county lakes. Utilizing a deputy and reserve member working together allows for safety, effectiveness and efficiency, especially when weather is less than perfect and more than one person is in a stopped watercraft.

The Reserves charge a fee to work at various events and the money is used to provide members with uniforms and equipment. Some examples of these events are: community events including concerts and street dances, New London-Spicer football games and prom, parking at the County Fair, and the Spicer Triathalon.
The unit consists of men and women of all ages and occupations, members are required to attend monthly meetings, which are held the first Tuesday of every month. Required annual training includes first aid, CPR, radio use, traffic control, and defensive tactics. They must be certified to carry the following equipment – taser, baton, mase, and handcuffs.