Community Corner
Woodbury Detective Named Hostage Negotiator of the Year
The Washington County SWAT hostage-negotiation team, which has three Woodbury officers as members, was named Negotiations Team of the Year. They were nominated for their response during the August 2012 Red Roof Inn incident.
For his work to free hostages during an August 2012 standoff at the Red Roof Inn, Woodbury Det. Chris Rheault was recognized as the Hostage Negotiator of the Year.
Rheault and the Washington County SWAT hostage-negotiation team were honored Monday night during a Special Operations Training Association awards banquet in St. Cloud, according to a release from the Public Safety Department. The local SWAT team was named Negotiations Team of the Year.
Two other Woodbury officers, Jeff Zerwas and Michelle Frascone, are part of the team, which represents Cottage Grove, Stillwater, Forest Lake and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
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“Chris Rheault was one of the first responding officers, and ultimately, with the assistance of intelligence received from his team, was able to talk the suspect into allowing all of the hostages go one or two at a time,” according to the Special Operations Training Association award nomination. “His ability to quickly establish rapport with the suspect saved numerous lives that morning.”
One hostage was killed in the early stages of the August 2012 standoff. Police approaching the door of the motel room heard a shot fired, then opened fire as a man ran from the room. Mark Eric Henderson, 19, of St. Paul, died at Regions Hospital as a result of multiple gunshot wounds. The officers involved were cleared in the shooting.
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The suspect in that case, Demetrius Santrell Ballinger, .
The Washington County SWAT team talked to Ballinger over a four-hour period on Aug. 31, 2012, and he eventually released the hostages and was arrested.
Washington County Sheriff William Hutton and Crisis Negations Team Cmdr. Lonnie Van Klei nominated Rheault and the Washington County SWAT negotiation team for the awards.
“The professionalism and dedication to doing exceptional work as a crisis negotiations team was acknowledged with these awards,” Woodbury Det. Zerwas, team lead for the Washington County SWAT negotiation team, said in the release. “We are fortunate to have the right mix of people in our organization.”
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