GRUNDY CENTER- Grundy Center Police Chief Doug Frost didn’t hesitate when asked if last week was the most difficult of his law enforcement career.
“Yes,” he quickly answered.
In the aftermath of an April 9 standoff that left Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Jim Smith dead, local law enforcement officers and first responders have struggled with the situation, but it’s also provided an opportunity for members of the community to show their support and do what they can to make life a little easier for the people who serve and protect them.
“The situation is not a good situation for people to reach out, but it just goes to show, like any smaller community, how really close knit people are and (how much) they care, not only about the other people in their community but about the people who work for us,” Frost said. “There’s been so much support about what everybody’s going through. Everybody’s emotions are different. Everybody handles stress differently, but mainly from the public, it’s been nothing but positive.”
On the morning after the incident, Allison Schoolman, who lives in Wellsburg and works as a nurse practitioner at the Unitypoint Grundy Center clinic, came in to the Natural Grind and told owner Natalie Kracht that she wanted to kick in $20 so that police officers and first responders could have a free cup of coffee the next time they were there.
“I know a lot of people come here, and it’s not much. But I just wanted to be able to offer something. They were probably up the majority of the night, and even when they did go home, they likely weren’t able to go to sleep,” Schoolman said. “It’s nothing big, but it’s a small pick me up. And everybody appreciates it when somebody’s thinking about you.”
Not long after, an EMT from Marshalltown walked into the Natural Grind and was so overcome with gratitude from receiving a free drink that she began to cry. The idea quickly caught on, and before long, Kracht had taken in so much donation money that she decided to spread it to other businesses including the Landmark Bistro and Em’s Coffee Co. in Independence, where Sgt. Smith lived.
“I had so many people coming and wanting to give donations, (so) I then created a link to make it easy. It just kind of grew organically really fast from there,” Kracht said.
Kracht credits Sheriff Kirk Dolleslager with connecting her to the coffee shop in Independence through a law enforcement friend, and due to the strong presence of Hardin County deputies at the scene of the standoff, she also gave money to coffee shops in Iowa Falls and Eldora. Later last week, Landmark Owner Jill Krausman began to match donations dollar for dollar at her restaurant, and several other businesses in the area have placed yard signs with messages of support for law enforcement in front of their stores.
“As a business owner, I personally wanted to be able to give back. I just wasn’t sure, and I hadn’t really collected all of my thoughts as to exactly how I was going to do that,” Krausman said. “It’s typical for Grundy Center. When something happens, people always rally around the situation.”
BarLea Roots Events Center Owner Steph Larson is planning a “Law Enforcement Appreciation Night” including a pepper tournament and meal for Friday, May 7, with all of the proceeds going directly to Smith’s memorial fund.
“You can’t take your police officers for granted—their dedication, their sacrifice and service. They throw on that badge every day not knowing if they’re going to come home or not,” Larson said.
Dolleslager told The Grundy Register that while he feels residents of the county have always supported law enforcement, he’s felt it even more strongly in the last week, and the Sheriff’s office has received an outpouring of supportive messages, food and drink donations and bracelets with slogans like “The Thin Blue Line” and “Blue Lives Matter.”
“We’ve gotten so many people e-mailing us, each officer personally, plus all of the stuff that our Facebook page has received,” Dolleslager said. “We’ve gotten calls from people out of state wishing us the best… It’s been since last Thursday that I’ve even sat down and had an actual meal.”
He added that he expects Grundy County residents and Iowans to step up during difficult times, citing the 2008 Parkersburg tornado and last summer’s derecho as prime examples. Frost also gave a shout out to Marshalltown Police Chief Mike Tupper, who provided officers to patrol in Grundy Center during the public funeral service for Sgt. Smith on Friday so that members of the GCPD could make the trip to Independence to pay their respects.
Krausman, along with Kracht and Schoolman, also reiterated that regardless of debates and incidents involving police officers in other parts of the country, they wanted to be sure to show support for local law enforcement and express gratitude for their service to Grundy Center and Grundy County.
Additionally, they each offered thoughts and support for the loved ones of suspect Michael Lang, and Krausman has personally paid for a meal for two members of his family.
“They still have to live here, and he’s still someone’s dad, brother, cousin,” she said. “The positive stuff is definitely comforting to them knowing people don’t hate them for what happened.”
Frost hopes that nothing like the events of April 9 ever occur again—in Grundy Center or elsewhere—but he’ll do his best to be ready.
“There’s no textbook, especially in situations like this. You just take it one day at a time, and basically, anymore, you just take it hour to hour in this job,” he said.
