East Side beat cop award-winning officer

-- Cathy Rajtar

Officer Lucia Wroblewski, 43, is a 17-year veteran of the St. Paul Police Department (SPPD). She is a beat cop who patrols lower East Side St. Paul neighborhoods between Payne Avenue and Arcade Street. Her compassion, care and dedication sparkles forth while wearing badge number 674. She performs her duties this year with the same passion and enthusiasm she had as a rookie cop back in 1993.

"If it is not a calling, you should not be doing it," underscores Wroblewski, parking the squad car on Payne Avenue before the Case Avenue bus stop, scanning dispatch information on her laptop computer mounted under the car’s dash.

"Multitasking makes you a valuable cop," she says on this subzero February Sunday morning during my ride-a-long.

"I am listening to your questions, Cathy, listening to dispatch, watching the road, watching my laptop for information and scanning the street in every direction for stolen vehicles or folks in trouble asking for help," she says.

"You have to stay motivated and like what you’re doing,” continues Wroblewski. “Serving over a decade as the only female officer on St. Paul Police Department’s Critical Incident Response Team has given me additional training and education to stay interested and motivated in my job."

"Critical Incident Response Team is a disciplined team of officers specifically trained in using state-of-the-art equipment and tactics when apprehending active shooters such as Columbine high school," continues Wroblewski.

"These specialized team members are on the pager 24/7. Team members always carry with them duffle bags containing their AR-15 rifle which fires big rounds, specialized protective helmets and body armor," she says. "Training teaches team members how to respond quickly to hostage or sniper incidents arising from aggressive actions of individuals or groups.” “It’s important to watch their body language. You have to use common sense. There are a lot of EDP (emotionally disturbed people) running around out there," she points out.)

"I scoured East Side neighborhoods off Third and Earl Streets for the person who shot Officers Ron Ryan, Jr. and Tim Jones in 1994," says Wroblewski. "When Sgt. Gerald Vick was shot last year, I had just fallen asleep at home when my pager went off to respond to Eric’s Bar on Seventh Street."

As the only woman, Wroblewski earns an extra $1.50 per hour for CIRT team duty and receives additional training at Fort Ripley ever year. Ongoing training occurs regularly for St. Paul police officers. Wroblewski instructs officers at the St. Paul Police Academy in proper bike patrol maneuvers and use of force.

"All police officers must qualify periodically in the use of their Glock .40 handguns and other weapons used on the job," says Wroblewski pulling her handgun out of its holster. "You have to clean your gun every time it has been fired. Every year I have to shoot at 80 percent accuracy to qualify on the Glock .40 handgun and 90 percent accuracy to qualify on the AR-15 rifle," explains Wroblewski.

CIRT team duties bring Wroblewski joy because she is good at what she does and is not afraid. "If you are afraid, you have no business being a cop," she points out. "As a cop, you have to stay physically fit and be able to do your job well. You have to be self-confident, work well as a team, care about people and listen to them tell you everything."

"The whole reason for patrolling neighborhoods is to prevent something negative from happening," Wroblewski says. "The patrol cars' presence in neighborhoods always makes a difference as does patrolling on mountain bikes." She stops the squad on Payne Avenue to buy hot chocolate at Plaza Latina and chat with local Mexican business owners and customers.

Wroblewski has partnered for 12 years with Officer Tim Bradley, another East Side native. They first met when Wroblewski blew through an intersection riding her bike down a St. Paul street. It was Bradley who kindly issued her a citation for this infraction.

In 1993, the dynamic duo of Wroblewski and Bradley started SPPD’s first mounted patrol. In 1996, both received Officer of the Month and Officer of the Year awards for creating and training other officers on bike patrolling through neighborhoods and finding the funds to keep the program afloat.

Wroblewski retold how one Saturday afternoon early in her career, she and Bradley were patrolling on bikes in plain clothes through the neighborhood, showing photos of a fugitive to local residents. A neighbor viewing the photo pointed to a garage next door where the guy they were looking for was shopping for garage sale items.

As Wroblewski entered the garage and positively identified Dario Bonga from the photo, she apprehended and arrested him for murdering a man in Jay Cooke State Park. Bradley praised Wroblewski’s persistence in a Pioneer Press article published Aug. 1, 1996, "One of Lucia’s best qualities is she keeps digging," he says.

"If you call the police, these are the people you want coming to your house," said Sgt. Michael Garvey in the article. He nominated Bradley and Wroblewski for the annual Officer of the Year Award given by department supervisors. "You ask them to do something, they’re right on it."

Even though Wroblewski received the SPPD Medal of Valor and was inducted to the John A. Johnson Senior High School’s Hall of Fame in 1998, her greatest reward was the Hoops Project, a private volunteer activity Wroblewski and Bradley took on quietly on their own.

As Wroblewski drove her squad into a back alley next to Weida Park near Tedesco Street, she explained how this community rallied together to get basketball hoops placed in the park. "Tim and I personally talked to everyone in the neighborhood to see if they needed hoops in the park," Wroblewski said, pointing out the basketball hoops anchored in the park nearby.

"When the park was first built, no basketball hoops were placed here due to budget cuts. What were the residents to do but play on the streets?” asked Wroblewski. “No wonder the Eastern district headquarters was constantly getting complaints about diverse residents playing basketball and blocking the streets."

The partners asked colleagues at the St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department for basketball hoops for the park and found they had extras on hand. They rallied neighborhood residents to maintain the park and not destroy property and otherwise warned the hoops would come down. "Look, they are still in place and no property has ever been destroyed. We did it all on our own, without any publicity," smiled Wroblewski proudly.

At that moment, dispatch calls her squad to a 'domestic' on Geranium Avenue. Upon arrival, she approaches the female victim and gently asks questions while writing notes in her small notebook. In a domestic situation, two squad cars must arrive and back each other up to defuse the situation. Bradley parks his squad next to Wroblewski’s and asks to speak to the male party involved who approaches him in a white muscle t-shirt and jeans. Wroblewski and Bradley politely ask what the couple’s real problem is, then try to help resolve it.

Enroute to the station, Wroblewski says she and Bradley are often called to handle domestic situations on the East Side because of their demeanor and problem-solving skills.

Before parking the squad car at headquarters, Wroblewski states she has about 10 years remaining on the force before retirement. She has already prepared her resumé and skills to become a K-9 officer.

Wroblewski asks just one thing of the community. "Please call when you see something negative happening. We perform our jobs best when the action is unfolding."