welcome to the Kindness Chronicles, where we hope to inject the world with a dose of the Minnesota nice that it desperately needs. Yes. It is, uh, September 12th. Probably get posted on September 13th or 14th. But, uh, here with, uh, Steve Brown. Hello, Steve. Hey, everybody. Hey, John. And, uh, Kevin Gorg is, uh, out visiting his daughter at University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. Uh, so we're going to let him have the, uh, the, the day off, but we'll give it to him.
Our, uh, special guest today is, uh, one that we had a long time ago, early on. But, uh, we asked to have him back. Uh, Colonel Roger Ledding. Hello, Colonel. Hi, John. How are you doing? I'm doing great. I'm doing great. I just, uh, I'm going to give a little background on the Colonel. Uh, Colonel Letting was the, uh, the Chief of the State Patrol. What were the years you were the Chief? From, uh, I was Chief from 1979 to 1989. That's a few years back. Just a few years back.
Colonel, how old are you now? Ninety four. Well, I had lunch today with the Colonel and two other ninety four year old guys. And, uh, one youngster in his, uh, mid seventies. So, uh, but, uh, we refer to it as the usual spot suspects. We went to a, uh, an excellent, uh, Fiesta Cancun restaurant in Hugo, Minnesota. It's really good. Um, Colonel and I, uh, We, uh, we did some damage up there, uh, put away a couple of huge quesadillas and some, uh, queso dip. It was pretty good. Why there?
Was that just a central spot? It was very central. Okay. Yeah, um, one of the guys was coming from North Oaks. One was coming from Forest Lake. One was coming from Blaine. And we were coming from, uh, White Bear Lake. So, it's, uh, very centrally located and the food is fantastic. Enough about that. So the reason, uh, I asked the colonel to join us is, uh, for starters, he's one of the finest storytellers that you'll ever encounter, which is code for, I didn't want to work very hard tonight.
So we figured we could ask the colonel, get the colonel, uh, ask him a couple of questions and then sit back and take a nap. Not because your, your, your stories will put us to sleep, but because you're, uh, We don't have to work so hard. We don't have to work so hard. So Colonel, one of the things that you and I have always talked about, by the way, um, the Colonel and I, uh, the, the, the Colonel was very instrumental in my, uh, journey as a Freemason. He was kind of my mentor.
And um, For a while. I want to know how you guys met too. That's interesting. Well, we, we met because I was hired as a consultant to the Masonic Cancer Center fund and the colonel was on the board of the Masonic Cancer Center fund and colonel letting, uh, I just immediately was drawn to him. He's just, he's, he'll hear what a wonderful guy he is. Um, yeah. But, uh, we were trying to raise money for the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota.
And the colonel and I would drive around the state of Minnesota. Sometimes we'd have, uh, you know, another person with us, Don Severson or Chuck Dietz. And, uh, The crew, the gang. The gang. Me and the, uh, at the time, octogenarians. Now, you were probably only in your seventies back then, colonel. You were just a youngster. That's true, John. But we, um...
We would travel all over the state and I can tell you that having the ex chief of the Minnesota State Patrol sitting shotgun, there was an occasional, he would peek over my shoulder to see what my speed was. He also would occasionally, his ambition for pulling people over would kick in once in a while and he'd say, do you see what that guy did? And I'm like, Colonel, I, yeah, if I had one of those little cherries that you could stick on top of the car like Starsky and Hutch. Yep, let's get them.
We could have gotten them. Um, but, uh, we didn't. But that was, uh, those were some really fun days. Some road time. A lot of, a lot of time on the road with the good Colonel. Um, the Colonel's, uh, wife, Audrey. When did you lose Audrey? That was, uh, it'll be 8 years in the cover, 8 years in the cover, John. I think that, uh, it's safe to say that she was the better half. Uh, I don't think I'm exaggerating, you would probably agree with that.
I would have to say that she was the secret of my success. The secret of your success, she was the secret sauce. She became kind of famous in a way. She and the Colonel would go to Wally McCarthy's on Saturday mornings and they would do, uh, radio spots for WCCO. Really? Yup, WCCO radio. And they would be at Wally McCarthy's, was it Wally McCarthy's Lindahl Olds? Is that what they called it? Well, they did for a while, and then it just became Wally McCarty's, uh, Oldsmobile. Olds, okay.
But he carried the Lindahl, uh, name on it for a while because, uh, when he bought it, when they, when he bought the store from Lindahl, why, uh, uh, the Lindahl name was, uh, was a pretty well known name, and, and that, The customers were accustomed to having that, to being familiar with that name, and that's, and I've noticed that there are other dealerships that do the same thing, uh, keep the name for a while and then they finally can, you know, put it over into the name of, uh, Wally
McCarthy Oldsmobile. And you also, uh, were handing out hot dogs and popcorn and old Dutch potato chips, wasn't it? Well, John, my wife was an employee there.
I, I was there, uh, I was doing public service announcements, uh, in spots, uh, uh, notifying the public of different, uh, different, uh, things that pertain to the laws of the, uh, of the roadway, uh, so that, uh, it was a Thank Great opportunity, I thought, to get to the, uh, numbers of people to just let them, let them know that there's certain laws that have to be, uh, brought to their attention because they don't necessarily, uh, some of these new laws come into effect and, and, and many of
the, many of the people wouldn't know about them. Uh, uh, one of the big ones I remember, uh, when it, when it first started was the, uh, uh, headlights on when you turn your windshield wipers off. Oh, yeah.
That, uh, that one was, uh, I, I always, I, I always used to, uh, to mention that, that the people in Minnesota have heard that so many times, that when someone, uh, is observed driving without their headlights on during a rain or when it's foggy or any, any time the vision is obstructed, uh, they must be someone from out of the state. From out of state. Yeah. One of those, uh, outsiders. Yeah, that's right. They dream to enjoy the Minnesota.
The Minnesota people and the Minnesota climate, but, uh, they weren't familiar with the Minnesota law. I'm sure that the State Patrol made them familiar with the, uh, with the laws of the land. Well, I, you know, my recollection of the time that I spent, uh, we had a, we had a great crew of people. Uh, the, uh, patrol was, uh, uh, well, uh, the, the, the, The normal thing that people, uh, even my, my, uh, my boss had, uh, the commissioner.
He said that I bled maroon and, uh, and I, frankly, I feel like I did. I felt very strongly about the organization and, uh, I wanted to see, uh, the people recognize that it's a great organization and, uh, I, I, there were a lot of people that were very complimentary indicating that, uh, the message was getting through.
Yeah, I remember as a. Um, just not to put some age on you, but you know, driving around with my dad on Saturday mornings going to Pick up donuts before we would go play cribbage at my grandma and grandpa's house. And we'd listen to WCCO radio. And I remember the Colonel Roger Letting and Audrey at, uh, Wally. Absolutely. And another small world in 1980. 5. Colonel Letting was the keynote speaker at Minnesota Boys State, which is put on by the American Legion.
And, uh, every school in the state of Minnesota would send two representatives. To, uh, to go to this thing. It's like a leadership camp. And I remember Jeff Gibbons. Remember Jeff Gibbons? I... No, Steve, if he... I recognize the name, but I'm just trying to place the... No, no, I'm asking... Steve, what... Jeff Gibbons was a Hill Murray classmate of mine. Yeah, I know. But he's from, he's from this area. Okay, yeah.
Anyways, Jeff Gibbons and I were the two, um, uh, Hill Murray representatives at this thing. And the colonel was the keynote speaker. And I've got my, I've got my, uh, program for the, for the week. And not only was the colonel one of the keynote speakers, the other keynote speaker was a guy by the name of Ed Martini. And Ed was the, uh, the head of the Masonic home where I happen to have my office now. And those were the two guys and I knew both of them. So, that very, very small world.
Colonel, um, I, I, I mentioned to you, uh, when I asked you to be on today that Uh, you know, you've had some stories that you've, that you've shared with me that I just think are, are classic and I'd love for you to, to tell our audience about the, uh, the story of the time that you pulled over the, uh, the, uh, the guy who, who was not interested in, uh, following your orders. Um, and you, you got some help from uh, I had a very cold winter night in northwestern Minnesota. That's the one.
Yeah, I, I remember the conversation that you and I had with that, with that circumstance, John. And I, I, uh, I don't think I'll ever forget that night. But it was, uh, I think it was on a Tuesday night. It was a very, very cold night. Beautiful, uh, the moonlight, no, no, no clouds, uh, roads were clear, but the, uh, the ditches were still covered and, uh, I was working at three to midnight shift and, uh, it was about, uh, oh, I guess it must have been about, uh, uh, 11 o'clock at night.
And I, there wasn't much traffic out there on Highway 2, and I saw, I noticed this, as I was driving down the road, I noticed this truck approaching me. It was a pickup, and driving in an erratic manner, and I figured he's either falling asleep, He's ill or, uh, he might have had a little too much to drink. So, I pulled over on the shoulder, turned around, and I stopped the individual, and it turned out to be, uh, well, it was a logger.
He'd worked all day long in the woods, and he stopped at the liquor store to warm up and have something to drink, and apparently he stayed longer than he should have. And, uh, so, uh, I, I informed him, I said, uh, I'm going to have to take you into a, take you in and get you sobered up, and he said, I'm not, I'm not going anywhere with you.
Uh, this was after I had stopped the party and got him out of the car, uh, and had, and with his voice being slurred and all of the other indications of intoxication, it was pretty evident that this fella had way too much to drink. And, uh, He wasn't interested in complying with your requests. He wasn't interested in replying with your, uh, orders. Well, with my request, John. Yes, your request.
Uh, but anyway, I had, uh, Uh, we were, we were always equipped with, with, We were equipped with a mace. And, uh, that was basically the only thing except for my weapon. And, uh, out on this Very cold night, uh, if I were to use the mace, it was very evident to me that it wasn't going to have any effect at all because he was pretty numb already and, uh, this wouldn't have had much of an effect at all, uh, out there in the cold weather.
And so I was in kind of a quandary because this guy was a pretty big burly fella and, uh, I was trying to figure out how I, how I could, uh, entice him into the automobile. I had called for a backup and there was no, there was no one else out within 20 miles of where I was. And, uh, so I, during the time that we were having the, uh, The discussion, he was standing there, he had his legs spread and he had a pair of gloves on and he said, If you want me in that car, you put me in that car.
There isn't any way this is going to happen. Sounds like a scene from Fargo by any traffic, uh, their traffic was very light. Uh, I could hear this truck coming in the distance, uh, off in the distance. It was a semi 18 wheeler. And as he approached it came nearer, I noticed he went on the Johnson brake. And the Johnson brake, of course, is, uh, where they can use the engine to... The slowdown the uh, Jake brake? Slowdown the semi without having to use the brake system.
I mean, use the brake system. The combination of the two works extremely well for the truck. Is that loud noise, right? Oh yes, they, they, they, Yeah, they rev up the engine and that, uh, I don't know the full way it works but it does, It's loud. It does somehow or other create a braking circumstance for the, for the truck. It's irrelevant, this isn't the Engineering Chronicles. Yeah, that's right. At any rate, my, uh, uh, the truck was slowing down and I was, you know, kind of surprised.
I knew we were off on the shoulder of the road, but at any rate, the next thing I knew was the truck had slowed down to the point where it was pulling off onto the shoulder behind me. Uh oh. And I, I had no idea why he stopped. I had, I was occupied with this, uh, with this intoxicated, uh, driver. And, uh, I figured that maybe the trucker knew this fellow driving this pickup truck. I had no knowledge of any, any other, no reason to believe anything other than that.
Well, the trucker got out of his truck and he, uh, He came walking, uh, walking over to my automobile. We were standing between the two automobiles of the pickups that I'd stopped. And, uh, he said, uh, and he had a tire iron in his hand. And I thought, this is not, this doesn't look too good for me. And he said, what's the problem? And I said, well, I've got a fellow here that's had too much to drink. I can't let him drive any further because he might go out here and...
Have an accident, do some, do some damage to himself, or, or perhaps even worse than that. Or have a, uh, cause some really serious injury to, to someone else. And, uh, uh, but I said, he, he doesn't wanna, he doesn't wanna cooperate. And, uh, the truck driver, he looked at the fellow and he said, uh, is that right? And the fellow said, that's right. And the truck driver said, well, I tell you what. I mean, I was speechless.
The truck driver said, I tell you what, he said, you go ahead and get in that pickup and you start driving away. But he said, before you do, realize this, the minute you start that truck, there's going to be two people out here that are being concerned enough to see to it that you don't drive. And that's me and this trooper. And I thought, oh man. I mean, it was just outta the blue. I was just, it's like something outta the movies, not outta Fargo. It's a scene from Fargo. This, yeah.
That, that turned trucker was from Fargo. They had been haul grain, a load of grain over to Duluth and coming back empty. They, they used, they were storing grain in Duluth during the winter, uh, so that when the truck, when the boats came in and they had every, the, the silos were full and, and they were, the grain shipments were going out very rapidly.
But at any rate, uh, the fella, this, this, uh, driver of the pickup, he, he kind of looked at the two of us and he kind of shrugged his shoulders and he said, uh, all right, as he got into the car, this truck driver, the semi driver, Followed me all the way to Crookston. It was over 20, a little over 20 miles. No kidding. He never got off. He was, he was always behind me. And when I pulled in the, up to the, the jail, I, uh, He was, he was right behind me.
And when I walked the gentleman into the, into the station, I That was when he left and he went on his way. I never did get a chance to talk to him, to thank him or anything else, but, uh, I've always, uh, ever since that time, well, even before that time, I, I, I, the truckers truckers as a, as a group where they're very professional people and, uh, they do an excellent job. They put up with an awful lot of, of crazy driving that they witnessed on out on the road.
And, uh, Uh, this, this one fellow, he, his, uh, his experience with me stuck in my mind so, so much that, uh, I, I, I always did respect the truckers and respected, uh, their abilities on the road, but I had a new admiration for him too, just because he made that stop a total stranger. And Colonel, why do you think, what is your, in your mind, why do you think he did that? You know, I, I don't know. Why, he, uh...
Apparently, he was a law abiding citizen and, uh, he, he was, he was willing to stop and see if there was any, if there was any assistance that he could provide. Okay. With a tire on it.
You know, the trucks would move, the trucks or cars would, would move on and this happened to be one that, uh, yeah, I guess you could call him an angel because I, I was, uh, having a very... I was having a difficult time making up my mind as to how this thing was going to go because I couldn't let the, I couldn't let the driver go. If he, if he drove away and had an accident, the liability would go back on the state patrol because I, I made the stop.
And, uh, once the commitment is made, why, uh, Uh, it's my, it's my responsibility to see that the roads are kept safe, uh, and this circumstance required that responsibility to be, to take place. Well, that is, uh, that's truly a guardian angel sort of, uh, situation there. They're very... Well, yes. I don't know. He, he might have been the type of an individual who has done this before and done it, done it since. But I, I wish that I could have...
Had a conversation with him, but in view of the fact that, uh, getting the driver in the, in, in the, uh, in the squad car, uh, I wanted to get on my way. I naturally, the longer I stayed, we stayed out there that the opportunities that were there to get everything taken care of were, were quickly disappearing. So, uh, I, whoever that fellow is, uh, I, uh.
I have nothing but, he's the one that really created a newfound respect for me with all of the drivers driving those 18 wheelers out on the highway. That was the night I'll never forget. Colonel, as a person who has not yet embraced technology like most normal human beings, you probably YouTube videos, is that accurate to say? That is. Yes, that is accurate. Uh, the colonel has, uh, decided to live sort of a, uh, an Amish lifestyle. He doesn't have a... No phone. He's got no, you know...
Cell phone. He does have a phone. No cell phone. Do you have a cell phone? I do, I do have a cell phone. don't have a computer. You don't have... Uh, I don't, uh, find a need for a computer. No, I know, I know. We're in the computer age, but, uh... I think we're past the computer age. I, I, I'm, I, I'm very comfortable without one.
I seem to be able to, uh, survive without the need for that in the, whenever there's a need for using, using it, there's always a phone number available along with the, uh, uh, the, the, uh, whatever the, the needs are to get through to an individual by, by means of the computer. Now, Colonel, you also don't have like cable television, right? Oh, well, no, I've got 23 channels on my TV.
I think that one of the reasons that you are as cheery as every, every, as you are every time that I call you might have something to do with the fact that you're not watching 24 hour news. You're not, uh, looking at videos on YouTube. But the reason I bring up the YouTube thing is, uh, one of my favorite things to watch is when...
Police officers are assisted by citizens, you know, trying, you know, making arrests, you know, the, uh, the police officer is struggling with somebody in that, that criminal is going for their gun and out of the blue, somebody kind of like this guy that colonel just described jumps in and helps, uh, you know, Yes. I know exactly what you mean.
Uh, I, I would not, you know, I, there's certainly, uh, uh, there's no intent on, on the part of law enforcement to put anybody's life in danger by, you know, by providing assistance if that, if that would create that type of a circumstance for them. But the point is that, uh, We, you know, we're all in it together and we need the public, uh, cooperation. I say that even as a retired member of the state patrol, uh, the cooperation from the motoring public is, is really, uh, important.
And you know, when you're out on the road, uh, And you happen to, uh, see, there's a speeder goes, goes by you at a tremendously quick, fast rate of speed, much faster than what you're driving. Uh, you know, the thought goes through your mind, why isn't there a trooper out there? Yeah. Right. You know, you think, why, why isn't a trooper there when we need them? like something like this.
And then I can remember circumstances where that has happened where I'd spot a driver passing all the automobiles and I'd, uh, uh, make my, make my U turn and, and, uh, and, and, and catch up and be making the passes that, that he was making and finally get the individual stopped and find that there'd be the number of cars that we had passed. Uh, in, in getting in, in my, getting to him and, and, and, and the cars he had passed. Uh, they'll shoot the horn you know, Hey, you got the guy you got.
Congratulations. Ha. So just, uh, just that has happened more than once with, with me. I can remember some of those really high speed drivers hazard. And now I wonder if I'm fortunate enough to be there and make the stop while the rest of the voters out there, for the most part, are pretty happy to see that guy get his just news. Yeah. Um, 22 years ago yesterday was 9 11 2001. We all know what happened on that day.
And, you know, when you look back, that was probably a time in our country's history where we were more... than we probably, uh, had been before and probably have been since. Um, and police officers and firefighters were absolutely revered and they were celebrated for their bravery. Um... There were a lot of them that didn't survive. They were...
They were trapped up in the, in some of the, and the buildings at that, you know, since that time, there's been an awful lot of discussion about all of the things, the structure of the buildings. It was, uh, people didn't expect the buildings to collapse. I mean that, uh, the people that were in the know about it, they, they figured that the structures would, would be able to withstand it all of a sudden. Yeah, nobody expected a, uh, fully fueled 737 to be plowing into those buildings.
The reason I bring it up is, um, You know, do you recall, uh, moments in your career where people showed an appreciation to the work that you guys did? It didn't have to be something that necessarily happened to you, but, uh, you know, something that may have, uh, happened to one of the, uh, the officers that worked for you. One of the troopers.
Yes, I, uh, during the time that I was there, uh, you know, you, When, when an accident would occur, would occur, uh, there were people that would transport the hospital. You had to, uh, you know, once you investigated the accident scene, uh, you'd proceed to the hospital to get the necessary information, uh, of the DR for the, uh, the driver's information and, and to, to, um, make them aware of the need for, uh, an accident report, that sort of thing.
Uh, These people are under a lot of stress during that period of time and the way that you conduct yourself when you're, when you're dealing with the circumstances, they've already had a real big misfortune. Uh, it's, they, they're really gratified when you, when you When you realize the circumstances and you treat them, you know, with getting the information without creating any more problems than they've already got, if you could possibly do that.
And, uh, it really works because the numbers of letters that have been written, uh, back to the authorities, I mean, The chief of the patrol or the captains in the districts, uh, they get the information from these people, how gratified they are with the way that they were treated.
Uh, it's, it's kind of, it's pretty heartwarming to, to read some of those things because there's a lot of people that don't necessarily feel that way because of the arrests that might've occurred that the, uh, like the individual who says, well, This is the first time I, I've ever been picked up for drunk driving. Well, you know, the thought occurs in your mind is, is this the first time you ever drove drunk? Right.
Yeah. I mean, so yeah, the, yeah, the chances of getting caught, I don't know what the percentage would be because only those drivers out there who are doing it, some of them might, might have the experience for the first time in their life, the first time they ever drove, uh, uh, intoxicated. But, uh, there's plenty of others that, I've seen many, uh, many, many times, and I remember one fellow that I, uh, I got to know pretty well.
He, he used to do quite a bit of drinking, and, uh, whenever he got stopped, uh, by local police, the Sheriff's Department, he would, uh, he'd say, well, I've only got another block to go, and I'm not making a right turn, and I'm, I'm at home. And, uh, the people, uh, they, they'd be sympathetic enough about it, I guess, that they said, Well, then you're get off the road. I don't wanna see you anymore tonight. And uh, he mentioned to me that he'd been stopped by a trooper.
And the trooper, uh, he said, I give him, give him the same old song and dance maybe five miles away from home. But he, well, I'm, you know, I'm only, I'm only just a couple blocks away and I'm almost home. And the trooper told him, he said, I don't care if you're in your own front yard. He said, you're driving, you're intoxicated and you're gonna jail. And that driver, that, that fellow said, that's the night I quit drinking. Oh, good.
He said, I could get away with it all of the time, and I did get away with, uh, with my story for, for a long time. He said, this trooper, absolutely said, no, you've had more than, more than you share and, uh, you're going to jail. And he said, that's the one, he said, that guy's the one that made me quit. Well, I, I want to share a quick story about the, uh, the first and only time I ended up in the backseat of a police car. Here we go. Here we go. Um, I was a first grader.
And I was, I was, uh, we were sledding. It was me and three of my buddies were sledding at this, uh, this, it was called Porter's Gully. And it was very close to where I lived, where I grew up on Brookfield, or Brookview Drive in Maplewood. And, uh, the, the, the neighborhood kind of sloped down to this And there was this family that always created like this bobsled run. Ah. The bobsled run was, was wicked. And it was really designed for bigger people. Real steep.
Steep and, and, and, you know, turns and it was, it was crazy. I see. So. We decided, uh, it was during Christmas break that we were going to go down this, uh, this sledding hill. You were how old, 11? I, no, I was, well, I was in first grade, so I was probably 6. Oh, 6, yeah. you're young. Young John Schweitz in his sled. In, in my sled. And, um, I flew out of the sled and went face first into a tree. Oh, God! Oh, wow! So my buddies, um, put me into the sled.
I'm bleeding profusely from my nose and from my mouth. Dragged me up the, uh, the street, er, dragged me up the hill. Um, I was unconscious at the time and they were, were like pulling me, they were going to pull me home. Like the ski patrol. Like the ski patrol, exactly. And a police car drove by and it just so happens that one of the kids, uh, his dad was a, uh, a Maplewood cop. This, this wasn't his dad that drove by. This unconscious bloody kid.
This unconscious bloody kid, they wave, they, they flag down the police car and the police car, I guess the, the cop. Took me out of the sled and threw me into the back of the, uh, the police car and drove me to, at the time it was Ramsey Hospital, but it, you know, it was, it's now Regents Hospital. Because I had a traumatic, I mean, it was a really bad accident. It was so bad, I think I, I broke my nose and both my cheekbones. Really? Yeah, I, I was a mess.
In fact, that happened over Christmas break and on my birthday, which was March 27th, so remember that for all of your cards and gifts. Which, you know, almost four months later, yeah, three months later, um, there's a picture of me blowing out the candle and I still have black and blue shiners on, uh, on both eyes. It was really bad. I often say to people that, uh, and what happened was, is I, I, I woke up to the sound of the sirens and I woke up in the back of the police car.
I mean, I remember it like it was yesterday. I don't remember a lot, I don't remember yesterday necessarily, but I do remember. Well, the sled was, like, filled with blood. But, I mean, do you remember hitting that hill and going, Okay, here we go. No, I don't remember. I mean, I remember sliding, but I don't remember anything until we were on, uh, I 94 heading toward, uh, toward Ramsey Hospital. Yeah. They brought me in and, and got a hold of my parents.
I think the boys, my friends, went to my house and told them that, that there had been an accident. So, the, uh, they, they show up and, uh, the police officer, uh, had, had gone someplace. And they had, um, Social workers that took my parents aside because they wanted to find out if this was a child abuse thing. So it was absolutely this crazy thing, but I'll never forget that cop. Um, just, you know, like I remember waking up and he's carrying me into the emergency room at Ramsey Hospital.
And, uh, yeah, my parents talk about the fact that, you know, they were kind of taken aside and they were being asked these questions and they're like, he was on a sled, you know. But, uh, the, you know, the cop confirmed that, uh, that these boys were dragging me, uh, you know, Oh, good for your friends to get you out of that area. And like, instead of going running or something. Yeah. Um, yeah. One of them ended up becoming a cop himself.
Wow. Tom Arnold, not Roseanne bars, Tom Arnold, but Tom Arnold just recently retired from the St. Paul police department. But, uh, yes, that, uh, you know, the, the, the, the police officers, um, you know, as, as often as they get a bum rap for. You know, busting people, they really are there to protect and serve. And I just think that, uh, we should all pay attention to that. And we should recognize the fact that that is not an easy job.
Yeah. Anytime Colonel you, uh, you pulled somebody over, you kind of put your life in, uh, in their hands. And can you just, to conclude, you have a story about pulling over a gentleman, in air quotes, from Iowa that was heading to Canada. Do you recall that story?
That, uh, that's, uh, what really, what really happened, John, I was, I was working on highway, uh, up on highway 2 in the Bagley area on a, on a Friday night and, uh, There was an automobile that was, uh, driving, it had one headlight on, so, uh, I stopped the, uh, automobile and, uh, approached the driver, and it was a, uh, gentleman who was short of stature, and it was a very, very hot night, uh, very hot and sticky out there, uh, and the men, uh, it was in the first, middle, about the middle
of July. And, uh, I, I told him, I said, I stopped you because you've only got one headlight working, and if that headlight goes out, you've got no headlights working. So I, uh, it'll be necessary, you know, if you, uh, did you get that repaired? I can see, you know, sometimes you can drive, you don't realize that, uh, if you were just trying to help the guy out. Yeah, exactly.
And so I asked for his driver's license, and he was very surly about it, and he said, and I, uh, and he assumed that I was probably going to write him a citation, but at any rate, he said, I'm not going to fix it. And I mean, I was so surprised to hear this, because normally, when a person is stopped for that type of thing, why didn't no one, and, uh, and it was just a very, Casual conversation, you could call it.
I mean, certainly it's probably not casual by the motorist, but, uh, you know, it's a routine stop. Yeah. And so anyway, I, uh, I went back and, and, uh, he had a, I asked him for his driver's license. He showed me his driver's license and, uh, He, and I, and he said, I'm not going to fix the, uh, I'm not going to fix the light because he said this is a rental car, and I said, well, that's, that's all right. I said, I'm going to give you a repair. It's just called a repair ticket.
Uh, when you get it fixed, uh. Uh, when you turn the automobile in so that the next driver gets the, when they get the automobile, uh, the headlights will be, will, all the headlights will be working on, on the car. And, uh, he said, well, I'm not going to fix it. I said, I understand that, but it's a busy night out here, and you may be stopped by another, uh, trooper or another police officer. Sure, yeah. And if you should be, just show them this card that you're aware of.
Yeah, you're giving this guy a break. And you may have to where you're going. So I finished my shift that night, got home, And I was, I got home at 2 o'clock in the morning, uh, about 4. 30 when the phone rang and, uh, it was the, uh, Grand Forks Police Department. And the officer asked me, he said, did you stop a gentleman by the name of, I don't remember the name right now, but by the name of Johnson. And I, uh, and I said, well, I'll check here.
And I, I checked my book and I said, yes, I did. And he said, didn't you get the all points bulletin on this fellow? And I said, no, I didn't. He said, well, you should have because it was, it was, it was, uh, broadcast over the police, uh, frequencies all over the state of Minnesota. And I said, well, I always write them down. And I said, I might've been out of the car dealing with a person who needed assistance or that was being stopped for whatever reason.
Or I could have been getting gas, but I did not hear the, uh, the all points bulletin and he said, well, this fellow, uh, and I should say he had it where Iowa plates on the car and he said, uh, this fellow was going, he was on his way to Grand Forks, he's got a girlfriend up there. And, uh, he robbed a bank in, down in Iowa and killed the two tellers. And he said, if you'd given him any indication you recognized him, you'd probably wouldn't be talking to me on the phone right now.
And I said, well, I was just dumbfounded. He said, but when, we were, we, we had a Uh, we, we had, uh, officers, uh, posted, uh, near, near the, uh, place where we expected him to, to arrive, uh, his girlfriend's apartment. And we did, we were able to, uh, apprehend him without any, uh, without any problems. But he had a 45 on his belt. Holy cow.
And I, and from that day on, I'll never forget that because when I, uh, when I became chief, I used to talk to the, go out to the academy and talk to the troopers, the, uh, the candidates. And I, I wanted to impress upon them one thing. There is no such thing as a routine stop. Yeah. Yeah. I remember. Um, back in like 92 a, uh, classmate or a a, a, a schoolmate of Steven and, and me, uh, Ronnie Ryan. Mm-hmm.
was a St. Paul police officer, and you might remember this, you probably knew Ron Ryan's dad. Ron Ryan Senior. Yes. But I remember the Ron Ryan circumstance too. Yeah. So Ron is working as a, as a St. Paul police officer, and there is a car. That is in the Sacred Heart parking lot, uh, Sacred Heart Church parking lot on the east side on, I think it's, uh, 6th or 7th Street. And, uh, Ron just went up, you know, tapped on the window and there was a guy sleeping in the car.
And the guy pulled out a gun and shot him dead. And Ron, if, if anybody knows Ron or knew Ron, couldn't have been a nicer guy. I mean, absolutely. The, you know, homecoming king candidate every year that we were in high school. I just remember he was huge, he was a huge guy. He was a big guy. But just a wonderful guy. Happy, smiley. Always happy, smiley. His dad was a, uh, a really good, very, uh, all American. Yeah. Absolutely. But, uh. So sad. And then there was another.
Again, John, that, that kind of relates to the fact that it's considered a routine check. Yeah, just a check. So the, the, the moral to this. No criminal action, uh, and no infractions of the traffic laws by what was taking place, other than the fact it was in a parking lot that, uh, normally would be filled with churchgoers, uh, except for now that it's one car out there.
It might be a stolen car that they, they would check on it, or it might be somebody that, well, maybe had a, had a, had a stroke or something. Yeah, it's, uh. There's no such thing as a routine set up. No, there's, uh, there's, uh, I don't know, I just think that police in recent years have been given kind of a bum rap. Uh, you know, this whole defund the police BS that was going on for a while. And the reality of the matter is... People, unfortunately, people categorize.
Now, if you have a, if you had a bad experience with a mechanic that does something to your automobile, you don't necessarily feel that all mechanics are lousy, but somebody has a bad experience with one officer who shouldn't probably be wearing the badge.
And then they categorize, well, they're all alike, uh, we're human beings that we've got the same problems that everybody has, uh, the children get sick, uh, uh, the, uh, the, the mortgages do, uh, there's so many, it's, it's, they're, they're just different. Ordinary people will take the uniform off and that's what, but they have a job to do.
They take an oath of office, but they're going to enforce the law, but they're also going to provide protection to the people that are hired, the people that really want them out there. They want to protect them. And that's, that's what they're doing. Hopefully that's what they're doing. And I, I've always, uh, Enforce those thoughts in the, in the minds of the Troopers, uh, especially the candidates that are in the academies, uh, because they're coming into a whole new world.
It's, well, the, uh, the moral to this, uh, episode of the Kindness Chronicles is. Police officers, uh, they may be ordinary people, but they, they have an extraordinary job that can be exceptionally dangerous, um, and can be exceptionally helpful. So I, I'm asking, uh.
The listeners to the Kindness Chronicles just to remember that and, you know, show a little kindness, show a little kindness to the police officers because, uh, I would imagine that, uh, over the course of, uh, a career, they probably, uh, are on the receiving end of some, uh, don't be that guy moments, if you know what I mean, I noticed it in Colonel's story. There's a there's a don't be that guy and there's an example of great kindness.
So the the trucker that pulled over to help Yeah, for whatever reason he did that obviously ended up being an incredible kind move and it helped the colonel and the And the guy that that was in the truck that didn't want to get out. He was a don't be that guy that guy Listen to what the police officers have to say. Well colonel Thank you so much. As you can tell, driving around the state with Colonel, uh, with Colonel Letting, uh, the, the, the storytelling was, is fantastic.
My boys, Colonel and I would go to some baseball games occasionally with my sons and they'd be, they'd want to sit next to Colonel cause he's always got a great story to tell. If you can suffer through an occasional Ole and Lena joke, um, don't get started. Don't get started, Colonel. He's got one ready. Yeah, he's always got one ready. But, uh, I, uh, just wanted to thank you, and, uh, the last comment that I have is, this guy, Colonel Letting, is about 15 years older than the President.
Who do you think sounds more, uh, capable? And I'm not ripping on the President, but just the, the, the, their strength in this guy's voice. Yep. And it just shows you that age doesn't necessarily matter, you know. And, uh, the guys that I was with today, these, uh, three ninety four year olds, let's just say they, uh, they all have, uh, opinions and they can be presented in a very, uh, uh, thoughtful manner. That makes any sense.
All right, colonel, it's quite a crew that, uh, that we have when we get together. That sounds like it. That's true. It's a lovely bunch of guys. All right, colonel, I'll see you in a couple of weeks at the gala. Thanks colonel. Great to talk to you again and off we go.