SCOTT HARR - 2009 Awardee (Nominated by Dave Greeman)

ATOM's 2009 Hall of Fame Award is to be awarded posthumously to a colleague, mentor, and friend Scott Harr. After you have read more about Scott, you will agree that with his death last September the law enforcement training community suffered the loss of someone who embodied all of the characteristics of this award. You might even say he is a benchmark for what many of us should strive to be. He set a very high standard for both himself and the law enforcement profession.

For those of you who did not know Scott, I can tell you a bit about his background in criminal justice, law enforcement, and criminal justice education.

Scott began his law enforcement career in 1978 with the city of Edina, where he was employed as a police officer. Initially he was hired as a dispatcher, but was then promoted to the position of police officer. In 1980, he left the city of Edina to take a position in the city of Chaska as a school liaison officer.

In 1983, he began working as a legal investigator for the law firm of Meshbesher, Singer and Spence. He also did some private investigation work for the Canterbury Downs Race Track in Shakopee, Minnesota.

In 1987, Scott took a position as the Public Safety Director for the city of Chanhassen, where he coordinated law enforcement, fire, and EMS services for that community.

He worked as a social worker, police officer, school liaison officer, emergency management director, EMT, and firefighter. Scott had a lifelong passion for law enforcement and community service. Even when he was not actively involved in law enforcement, he maintained ties or lived vicariously through his many friends in the field.

Scott combined these two passions in his teaching. He taught criminal justice courses at several colleges and universities to include Normandale Community College from 1996-2000, Metropolitan State University from 1999-2002, and finally Concordia College from 2002 until leaving us. Scott had a major impact on the development and provision of a master's program in Human Services and Criminal Justice that gave many active Minnesota peace officers new leadership tools that still impact Minnesota's entire law enforcement community. His ethical leadership ideals show through in the graduates of that program.

Scott co-authored several text books that are still used in law enforcement education including Constitutional Law for Criminal Justice Professionals and Careers in Criminal Justice and Related Fields.

Scott became one of Minnesota's twenty-three POST Board recognized Professional Peace Officer Education Coordinators and served as a member of the Minnesota POST Board from early 2002 until his death. He served as chair for the POST Board's training committee for several years and throughout his service on the POST Board he was a champion of law enforcement education.

I believe Scott's greatest contribution to law enforcement education and training in Minnesota was his uncanny ability to personally connect with his students and to pass on his contagious passion for learning. It was almost unnerving how quickly Scott went from being a student's teacher to being their mentor, their friend. Scott took on difficult and challenging topics including taking dramatic steps to address student writing issues and tackling the task of building excellent online education and making it acceptable in a law enforcement community that was resistant to it. And Scott's students say he challenged them and pushed them to be their best. But those students also say there was no one better than Scott to offer them support; to provide guidance; to be each student's personal cheerleader. Students reported Scott respectfully motivated them to find their own passion, their own vision, not only in regard to criminal justice but also in regard to their personal lives.

What Kevin Gilmartin teaches in his book Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement, Scott knew from personal experience and preached in his teaching - he believed law enforcement is a calling and a profession that asks for the best in each officer. He also knew that officers needed to get their priorities straight and maintain a balance between law enforcement and other aspects of life if they are to be effective. Everyone who knew Scott could see he had a passion for law enforcement and education, but he made it very clear to all who knew him that his true love was for family. And he told his students and colleagues alike that they too needed to keep the people they loved the first priority in their lives. I remember talking to him about this once and he said he did not always know about balance and setting proper priorities, and that he was grateful he learned before it was too late. And this is an important part of the education Scott provided to law enforcement. This is a legacy that he passed on.

There are many people who can provide testimony to Scott's positive influence on law enforcement through training and education and I am sure they would be willing to submit additional narrative information between now and the day you will give out the award but I hope this gives you sufficient reason to decide to give this Award to Scott's family as a celebration of his life and memory and a tribute to his contribution to the professional of law enforcement.

I have also consulted several individuals regarding this nomination to include Neil Melton and Peggy Strand of the Minnesota Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, Jerry Cziok, retired Edina Police Department, Karen Hess, co-author of several textbooks with Scott, and finally Scott's wife, Diane. All of these people and for that matter, anyone who knew Scott, would agree that he meets the criteria to receive this prestigious award.