HomeMy WebLinkAboutPR_Beau Schoenhard MN Officer of the Year
City of Edina 4801 W. 50th St. Edina, MN 55424
Contact: Dawn Wills, Communications Assistant
Phone 952-903-5703 dwills@EdinaMN.gov EdinaMN.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Schoenhard Named Minnesota Officer of the Year
Edina, Minn., April 27, 2016 – Edina Officer Beau Schoenhard was recently named Officer of the Year for
the State of Minnesota.
Schoenhard received the honor for his heroic actions on the evening a gunman showed up at a New Hope
Council meeting in early 2015. At the time, Schoenhard was a police officer in New Hope.
A lone gunman walked into New Hope City Hall and opened fire in the hallway where several police officers,
their relatives and city employees had gathered after a swearing-in ceremony of two new police officers.
Schoenhard was in attendance and tackled the suspect, sustaining a gunshot wound to his hand in the process.
New Hope Chief of Police Tim Fournier recommended Schoenhard for the Minnesota Officer of the Year
award. “The reason I recommended [Schoenhard] is because he was unarmed and his wife and 15-month-old
son were with him and he selflessly fought for that weapon,” Tournier said. “Because of his bravery and
selfless act, it allowed time for the other officers to get shots off.”
“To be recognized alongside partners and peers from other agencies is a great honor,” Schoenhard said of the
April 19 banquet of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, when the award was presented. “The awards
ceremony was an emotional evening and I am very proud I had the opportunity to have my family alongside
me.”
At the time of the New Hope shooting, Schoenhard was in the final stages of the hiring process with the City
of Edina, but the tragic event halted his plans in an instant. Doctors found that the gunshot broke his radial
bone and shattered his wrist; they told him that he’d never be able to work again.
“The doctors said, ‘You’re not going back to work. You’re not going to have feeling in your hand. If you do
return to work, you’re probably going to be very limited,’” recalled Schoenhard. “The only solution for me
was that I was going back to work; I never thought that I wouldn’t. There’s no way I wasn’t going to return.”
After four surgeries, 75 physical therapy sessions and 12 acupuncture sessions, Schoenhard returned to active
duty in New Hope in December, months sooner than even the best estimation from his doctors. A year and a
day after that shooting, Schoenhard was sworn in as an Edina Police Officer.
For more information on the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, visit www.mnchiefs.org.
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