Ring….ring….ring…… “JOHNSON”!!!

Anyone that knew him recognizes this is the way Chief Dave Johnson ALWAYS answered his cell phone or home phone. Didn’t matter if he was in a good mood or bad, if he was in the middle of something or not busy at all — in a very loud and authoritative tone, he would answer that way ever time.

We celebrated the service and life of retired Kasson Police Chief Dave Johnson over the weekend. Thirty-five years of law enforcement servicing after the Navy, 28 of those years serving the city of Kasson. There were many stories shared about Dave throughout the weekend, but all had a common theme. His bark was much worse than his bite.

I was just 12 years old when Dave started serving at the Kasson Police Department, and when I hit my teenage years, he chased me and my friends all over town — literally. I was a cop’s kid and a teacher’s kid. I was always in trouble as a teenager. These kids go one way or another — they are either good students and stay out of trouble, like my three sons were. Or they are hell on wheels, like I was. We referred to Dave (when he got promoted) as Sergeant Slaughter because of his cranky demeanor. Little did we know as kids, he had a heart of gold on the inside.

Fast forward to 1996. I had gone to broadcasting school and worked for several radio stations by this time and in my spare time, I had caught the bug. I started volunteering on the Sheriff’s Posse and loved working in the community with patrol, so much so that I asked Dave if he would consider sponsoring me as a part-time officer. Now remember, I was a pain in his behind just 10+ years earlier in high school.

Dave agreed to give me a shot and he is the one who officially got my law enforcement career started. I loved working with him and I got to know a completely different man behind that gruff exterior.

Working in radio and in business, I was involved in marketing and sales every day. Dave wanted a K9 program for the department. He’d always wanted a police K9 program but could never get the city council on board with the idea.

One of the biggest hurdles was not only the question of community support, but the expense of starting a program; vehicle expense, dog cost, training, equipment, etc. I offered to help write a business plan, but had a different idea about his city council pitch. I offered to go around to businesses and get donations to help financially start the program.

My thinking was, if we already had business donations committed, this would cover the startup cost, show community support, and make it much more difficult for the council to turn him down. I had worked radio sales, so I was absolutely comfortable knocking on doors and asking for support — especially for a program that I believed would benefit our community. Dave gave me the green light, we raised all the money needed to start the program, and then he pitched it to the council.

They said YES! That was one of Dave’s proudest accomplishments with the PD, and his program quickly earned a reputation as being one of the best K-9 programs in the area. I was honored to have a little part in helping Dave with this program that meant so much to him.

My point with the K-9 story is, Dave had such a big heart. Dave believed in us, believed in his staff. He let us take chances and try things that many Chiefs wouldn’t. The K-9 approach was very different and out of his comfort zone, but he let me try it. Remember, 10 years before he was chasing me around town as the delinquent kid I often was.

He allowed us to do investigations that other small agencies wouldn’t try back then (prostitution, internet predator stings, etc.). We were proactive and we got things done as a department. That was because of his leadership. That was because he believed in us. He trusted us, his officers. That didn’t come without some struggles on his part — there were times when he had to defend our actions, which he always did and refused to back down.

After Dave sponsored me, working for him made me quickly realize this is what I wanted to do. My Dad would jokingly say I was the LAST Rose kid he ever thought would become a cop. However, Dave gave me the opportunity to realize how amazing this career is and how rewarding it is to serve in the community you live in, the community you’re raising your kids in. With Dave’s encouragement, I took the next step and enrolled in school, earned my law enforcement degree, and started my full-time career with Dodge County.

My kids, they all learned from Dave’s influence on me as a young new cop. I have one son that’s in law enforcement and another that’s in the military. Another that had been in the ministry. That influence started with Dave’s big heart. It started with him believing in me, giving me a chance at this crazy calling when others may not have. Life lessons I will remember forever.

Dave’s influence lives on in my kids. My kids are now parents, and they are passing down the values that we learned from Dave to their kids. Service before Self. This is just one example of three generations of one family that his big heart made an impact on. With his 35 years of service, 28 of those years in Kasson, just think of how many other lives he likely influenced over his decades of service.

I certainly wouldn’t have been blessed with the opportunity to serve here in Dodge County without his belief, his trust, and his encouragement. On behalf of the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office and the Rose Family, thank you Chief Johnson for your service, for your leadership, and for your friendship. You will never be forgotten.

Your Sheriff,

Scott