05/15/2026
Today is National Peace Officers Memorial Day, where we remember all the fallen guardians of peace. In Anoka County, seven line of duty deaths have represented the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, Anoka Police Department, Columbia Heights Police Department, Lino Lakes Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol, and St. Francis Police Department.
Deputy Ernest Zettergren – EOW December 7, 1953
Deputy Ernest Zettergren was shot and killed when he interrupted a burglary at a local tavern. Zettergren had noticed that a window was broken out at the business and pulled up behind a car in front of it. He radioed the license plate when the suspect came out and approached the vehicle. The man shot Deputy Zettergren twice and fled with the deputy's weapon and clipboard. The man was arrested later in the morning and confessed to the murder. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. His wife and six children survived Deputy Zettergren.
Detention Deputy Richard Legler – EOW August 9, 1986
During the early morning hours on Saturday, August 9, 1986, Detention Deputy Richard Legler and fellow Detention Deputy Anthony Hesch, were on their way to work at the jail. An unknown dark-colored car pulled alongside Legler’s vehicle and fired a shot. The shot from the fleeing car entered Legler’s driver’s side window and struck him in the left arm. Legler struggled to pull the vehicle over to the right side of the road. The round struck his left arm just behind his uniform patch, ultimately piercing his left lung.
The suspect was later found deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. It is believed that the suspect may have seen the jail uniforms worn by Legler and Hesch, and seeing the uniformed men could have triggered the shooting as no other cars had been reported shot at that morning. At the time of his death, Detention Deputy Richard Legler was 38 years old and had worked for the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office for approximately three years.
