It’s been a tough year for the Two Rivers Police Department.
Those were the words from Two Rivers Police Chief Ben Meinnert during his recent appearance on WOMT’s Be My Guest program.
This year, the police department dealt with the passing of two young boys.
We brought up the Elijah Vue case before, but unfortunately, 7-year-old Jacob Baer was also found to have passed away after his body was pulled from the East Twin River at the beginning of December.
Meinnert says it’s important to remember that police officers aren’t just dealing with one major incident in a day.
“We had a lot of personal things that people were dealing with in our department,” he stated. “On top of the same everyday police work, on top of a huge case. And then another huge case.”
But while there was sadness within the year, Meinnert said:
“We came through for one,” he explained. “We got closure to families. And really we just saw immense support from so many different people that I think was truly amazing for all of us.”
He said the support from the community was also seen in both Shop with a Cop and the Police Lights of Christmas events, which included over $2000 in gift cards distributed.
The Elijah Vue Toy Drive also helped about 100 families have a good Christmas this year.
