Beltrami County Sheriff Ernie Beitel retires after 38 years in law enforcement

Jan. 3—BEMIDJI — On Friday, Dec. 30, Beltrami County Sheriff Ernie Beitel sat in a patrol vehicle and made a call to dispatch.

For any member of law enforcement, this might seem like a typical, everyday occurrence. But for Beitel, this call held a little more meaning — as he gave his 10-7 "out of service" code, his 38-year career came to a close.

"I want to thank all of the hardworking, dedicated sheriff's office employees for all of their support, hard work and dedication," Beitel said during the call, which was broadcast to his deputies. "I am humbled and honored to have served with you all these years. Please take care of yourself, each other and your family. Be safe, because blessed are the peacemakers. 8101 is 10-7, goodnight."

Beitel's career began back in 1984 when he dipped his toes into the world of law enforcement as a Glenwood police officer. From 1987 to 1989, he worked as a Pine River officer and from 1989 to 1995 he was a deputy with the Cass County Sheriff's Office.

After joining the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office in 1995, he worked as a DARE officer, K9 officer, K9 unit supervisor and patrol sergeant. Beitel became chief deputy in 2012 and was sworn in as sheriff in 2019, serving one term before

announcing his retirement in February 2022.

At his retirement party held on Dec. 30, dozens of attendees flocked to Beltrami County's Law Enforcement Center to congratulate Beitel on his long law enforcement career and wish him well in his retirement.

"I'm kind of at a loss for words now," Beitel said in front of the room packed with many of his coworkers, friends and family members. "It's been challenging, it's been fun, it's been exciting. It's been an honor and a privilege to serve Beltrami County for this many years and to give back to the community that we've called our home."

After reflecting on the love he has for the community, Beitel shifted his focus toward his deputies.

"They're just outstanding men and women, and I would put them up against any agency in Minnesota," he said. "They are what law enforcement is supposed to be. When we start new people out in this job, they take an oath and live by that oath when they swear to uphold and support the Constitution, the state of Minnesota and Beltrami County — that means a lot to me."

As Beitel hangs up his badge, he'll be saying goodbye to several coworkers within the sheriff's office, many of whom have worked with him for decades. One of those people is Chief Deputy Jarrett Walton, who has worked alongside Beitel for 21 years.

"He was very hands-on," Walton said about Beitel's leadership style. "He was not afraid to get his hands dirty and get in the middle of what was going on, and give his advice and leadership."

Chris Muller, Beltrami County Emergency Management director, also took a moment to note Beitel's close ties with the emergency management department during his time as sheriff, referencing the many challenges they worked through together.

"Over the last few years, we've been stretched very thin with Line 3, protests and all of that," Muller said. "Through the challenges, we've had over the last four years — and I've worked with three sheriffs — I've never worked as closely with a sheriff as I did with Ernie because there were a lot of executive decisions that needed to be made. When I said 'We need to do this,' he didn't bat an eye."

Collaboration and teamwork were important themes throughout Beitel's run as sheriff. Since stepping into the role, one of his top priorities has been working on the Beltrami County Jail project, a job that required plenty of collaborative efforts.

The jail project got its footing in 2019, the year Beitel was sworn in as sheriff. After several inspections done by the Department of Corrections showed that the jail was deteriorating at a fast rate, the Beltrami County Board entered into a contract with the DOC to either remodel or build a new jail.

Beitel served as part of the steering committee, which worked to coordinate work done by the project's sub-committees, make final recommendations to the board, direct the project consultant and ensure that the project was moving forward at a steady pace.

Though progress was set back in 2020 due to COVID complications, the project started up again in the past year, when Justice Planners LLC was hired to conduct a Needs Assessment and Feasibility Study. After six months of gathering jail data and evaluating possible ways to improve the jail,

the county board voted unanimously to build a new facility,

a process that will begin in the coming years.

"It's very important work that he's been doing," Walton said, referencing Beitel's efforts on the jail project. "We have a need in our jail and through all the studies, we have a void that we need to fill. He's worked very diligently on all different fronts to try to do that."

For Beitel, though, wiping his hands clean of those responsibilities now that he's retired just won't suffice. He wants to see the jail project through to completion, saying he plans to take just one month off before hopefully continuing to help it move forward.

"We've got a jail that needs to be built, I've spent a lot of time with that and we'll see if there's room for me to still work on it," Beitel said. "I want to see it get done — that was one of my major goals."