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Lakeville Police chief summarizes Q1 hires, training, casework and statistics
Summary
Police Chief Brad Paulson presented the department's January–March report covering new hires and promotions, training and three highlighted investigations; the report noted fewer incident reports, more calls for service overall and an increase in DWI arrests in Q1 2025.
Brad Paulson, chief of the Lakeville Police Department, presented the department’s quarter 1 report at the May 5 council meeting, summarizing personnel changes, training, community outreach and selected investigations covering January through March 2025.
Paulson said the department hired Officer Melissa Rupert in January and added Officer Nick Navo in March, noting Navo was part of the IC POET (Intent Intensive Comprehensive Peace Officer Education and Training) grant that can reimburse up to $50,000 for education costs. Paulson said two additional hires — Josh Ennevold and Megan Karp — started training at Hennepin Technical College in February and are expected to enter field training later this year. In March, Tom Danielson was promoted to sergeant.
The chief highlighted training and community engagement: monthly SWAT training as part of the South Metro regional SWAT team, a field training officer program, defensive tactics instruction and community outreach events such as senior presentations and a citizens academy graduation.
Paulson described three case highlights: a DWI arrest where the department used an in-house officer trained in phlebotomy to draw blood under a search warrant; an identity-theft investigation tied to fraudulent furniture deliveries that expanded after a search warrant; and a residential burglary from November 2024 that led investigators to identify two suspects through vehicle computer forensics, surveillance, search warrants and multi-jurisdictional detective work.
On statistics, Paulson said incident reports filed in Q1 were down by about 1,500 compared with Q1 2024. He said Dakota County crisis calls routed to the countywide crisis response unit for Lakeville numbered 35 in Q1, with 31 of those resolved through crisis services without Lakeville Police Department involvement. Calls for service were reported at about 14,200 in 2025 versus roughly 13,500 a year earlier; traffic stops were down slightly while property-damage and personal-injury crashes ticked up. Paulson told the council that DWI arrests rose “significantly” in Q1 and attributed the increase at least in part to proactive traffic enforcement details.
Council response: Councilmembers thanked the department. Joshua Lee publicly thanked the department for the report; another councilmember commended the use of a phlebotomist officer as an efficient allocation of resources.
Why it matters: The report documents staffing changes, training priorities and local crime trends, and it surfaces resource and enforcement choices — such as the use of a department phlebotomist and participation in grant-funded officer education — that affect operations and budgets.
Clarifying details: Paulson said the IC POET grant can provide up to $50,000 reimbursement for an agency that supports an officer’s tuition; the department reported 35 crisis calls for Lakeville in Q1 with 31 resolved without police involvement; calls for service rose to about 14,200 year-to-date.
Ending: Paulson concluded by standing for questions; council members expressed appreciation. No policy or budget decisions were made at the meeting during the report.
