Wyoming public safety director looks back at time in Wyoming
When former Wyoming Public Safety Director Paul Hoppe came to the city as the chief of police on May 11, 2009, he knew he had a lot of challenges in front of him. On Jan. 2, Hoppe said goodbye to his career in law enforcement and said hello to retirement.
Growing up in the lower St. Croix Valley, Hoppe knew he wanted to stay in the northeast metro. Then a sergeant, he was looking for a transition to chief during his long tenure at the Oak Park Heights Police Department. He found his final home in law enforcement in the town of Wyoming, but he knew it wouldn’t be an easy task.
He was charged with developing a new system for policing shortly after the merger of the city of Wyoming with the township, all while working out of the mechanic’s garage, the then- home to the police department. The merger meant there were now seven times the square miles and double the population to cover. The city’s policing records were almost all still kept on paper in filing cabinets in the tight quarters already, and other technology needed upgrades, as well. But it was a challenge he relished as it gave him the opportunity to flex his creative and methodical brain.
“Part of what attracted me to Wyoming was you’ve got to take and grow the department, and you have to do it systematically [in a…
