Sheriff, jail and EMS report rising calls, new deputies and EMS reporting changes

The sheriff’s office told the Sawyer County Public Safety Committee that patrol call volume rose in October to 762 calls, up from 679 at the same point last year. In October officers issued citations and warnings and recorded 12 crashes that month, six with personal injury. Year-to-date totals cited in the report included 233 crashes, 56 with personal injury and three fatalities.

The department announced two new part-time patrol deputies — named in the meeting as Nick Pompooch and Madison Waller — graduated from the Northwoods Tech Law Enforcement Academy and are now in field training under Sergeant Jensen.

Jail staff reported an average daily population of 59 for October (year-to-date 58), higher than October last year (50). Committee members asked how fentanyl is getting into the facility; staff explained much of it is ingested or hidden on the body and that the scanner used to detect contraband is a helpful tool but does not find every instance. Staff said the device has contributed to life-saving interventions despite limitations.

Emergency Medical Services reported transitioning from ImageTrend to a new reporting platform that includes fleet management and inventory tracking and should produce more accurate daily reports. EMS described several recent high-acuity trauma calls involving ATVs/UTVs and a brush-cutting implement; EVOC driving training was also completed. EMS reiterated a request to advance a part-time secretarial position (no benefits) and said the department is evaluating budget impact before making the role permanent.

No formal action was taken on these reports; they were presented for committee information and follow-up as needed.