Street Crimes Unit: One year after shooting tragedy - KOTA Territory News

Street Crimes Unit: One year after shooting tragedy

The street crimes unit's goal is to maintain a highly visible presence in Rapid City.
But after the heroic actions of fallen officers McCandless, Armstrong, and Tim Doyle (who was wounded in bloody bullet exchange), we wondered if that "presence" would change.

Two of the three officers involved in last years shooting were part of the Street Crimes Unit - all had spent time patrolling the city on bike and foot.
Returning to those same duties would seemingly be difficult after last year's tragedy.

"I knew law enforcement was dangerous, officers die every year, I signed up knowing that," said Street Crimes Officer Dan Anderson.
 
But the sudden violence of last years police shooting hit the street crimes unit especially hard.
 
"They were doing the same thing I do on a daily basis. My level of awareness went up. I've dealt with people a little differently since then," said Anderson.
 
A year later, the proactive mission of the unit remains unchanged.
 
"The police department can function without street crimes. We can answer all the calls and, play a reaction - method to combating crime. But street crimes, we're on the offense, we try to stop it before it happens," said Street Crimes Officer Christian Siegel.
 
In a span of just two hours, the two officers we rode with arrested 4 people for public intoxication. They say park benches, and areas under bridges are exactly where they find them.
 
"Our ultimate goal is not necessarily to lock these people up, sometimes it takes that. But we work with other programs to get people into treatment. We work with them on getting housing and off the bottle," said Anderson.
 
Their highly visible presence has provided comfort to a community marked by the violence of August 2nd.
 
"They kind of have a thankless job, but they're a needed force out there," said Payu Harris of Rapid City.
 
"It's a nice asset for downtown," said Mike Blote, Manager of the First Stop Gun store on Main street.
 
For these officers, proactive policing is the best chance they have to prevent this same kind of violence from resurfacing.

Thanks to a grant awarded to the Rapid City police department, four more Street Crimes officers will soon be added to the force.

And, due to a manpower shortage, most street crimes officers patrol at night to deter car burglaries, graffiti and public drunkenness.