HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune Police and Fire Swearing InsContact: Lauren Siebenaler, Senior Communications Coordinator
Phone 952-833-9537 • LSiebenaler@EdinaMN.gov • EdinaMN.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Five Sworn into Police and Fire Departments
Edina, Minn., June 16, 2023 – Two new Edina Police Officers and three new Paramedic/Firefighters were sworn in at separate ceremonies June 7 and 9.
Officer José Soto-Ortiz and Officer Ben Barker recently joined the Edina Police Department and took their oath to the community surrounded by family and friends Wednesday, June 7. Previously,
Barker spent seven years with the Minnesota State Patrol before joining the Edina Police Department. Soto-Ortiz was a security officer for five years before he joined the department
as a Police Cadet in November 2022 while attending Hennepin Technical College. He is the department’s first Cadet to move into a Patrol Officer role.
In addition to celebrating the two new officers, the department also honored two new Sergeants, Jason Behr and Ben Wenande. Behr and Wenande’s wives and children helped pin the sergeants’
new badges. Behr started with the department in 2000 and Wenande in 2013.
“This is a fantastic career,” said Police Chief Todd Milburn. “There will be challenges, new opportunities ahead and these great moments in time where you can change someone’s life for
the better.”
In a ceremony at Fire Station 1 Friday, June 9, Jeremiah Steele, Meghan Sipple and Matthew Madsen took their oath to the community and had their badges pinned as Paramedic/Firefighters.
Many family members, friends and coworkers were in attendance.
Steele was previously a software engineer and worked as a paid-on-call Firefighter EMT for the City of Plymouth. In 2020, he decided to make a career shift and went to paramedic school.
He became a full-time Paramedic for Hennepin County EMS before joining the Edina Fire Department.
Madsen served five years in the U.S. Marine Corps. After his separation from the military, he completed a paramedic program at Hennepin Healthcare. He gained additional training and
field experience through Hennepin County EMS and then the Minneapolis Fire Department.
Sipple started her fire career as a paid-on-call firefighter in 2014 with the Columbia Heights Fire Department. At the same time, she worked as an EMT and later as a Paramedic at Allina.
Meghan attended Hennepin Healthcare for her paramedic program in 2019 and worked as a Fire Medic with St. Paul Fire prior to being hired by the City of Edina.
For more information about the Edina Police and Fire departments, visit EdinaMN.gov.
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