obituaries

Otto Frederick Wagenpfeil Jr., a longtime Minneapolis police officer known as much for his Cajun roots as for his capacity for handling high-profile problems, died early Tuesday morning after a long battle with cancer. He was 47.

In two decades with the Minneapolis police, Wagenpfeil investigated homicides, commanded the SWAT team, was head of the special operations division, helped run the police department's response to the Interstate 35W bridge collapse and rose to the rank of captain.

The highlight of his career may have been leading a contingent of 80 Minnesota police officers on a mission to his native New Orleans to help patrol the city after Hurricane Katrina. His own mother rode out the storm in a hospital.

He returned with fresh ideas for policing and a long list of equipment he deemed necessary for Minneapolis, said Deputy Chief Robert Allen, whose signature stood between Wagenpfeil and the desired gear.

"I say this with love and respect: He was a royal pain," said Allen. Wagenpfeil secured grants and whatever other funding he could to build up the department's inventory of generators, radio chargers and other equipment that would be helpful in a catastrophe.

Two years later, the I-35W bridge fell, and "We used every stick of equipment he got," said Allen.

The next year the department put Wagenpfeil in charge of planning its strategy for the Republican National Convention. He was diagnosed with cancer a month before the convention. He continued working while undergoing chemo but eventually had to scale back.

Known for his sense of humor, Wagenpfeil kept a bottle of Jack Daniels taped to his IV stand at the hospital. It wasn't actually hooked up. He also decked out his room in New Orleans Saints regalia as his hometown football team made its way to Superbowl history.

"He looked like the Cajun that he was ... he was built like a big tank," said Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan. He stuck out a bit -- a big, round guy with a Southern accent, but he occasionally used that difference to his benefit. Sometimes he'd slow his speech a bit and play up the accent, hoping suspects would think him dumb and incapable of spotting a lie, Allen said.

How he ended up so far north had to do with his wife of 23 years, Charee. She met him at a Minnesota wedding when Charee's brother, Mark Olson, a medic in Baton Rouge, brought along his friend and co-worker, Otto.

He loved being with family and friends and eating good Cajun food, said Charee. As his health deteriorated, friends came to his room at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. They entered teary-eyed, but soon broke into laughter, she said. "He kept us laughing right up until the end," she said.

Besides his wife, survivors include their daughters, Rachael and Annie; beloved family pet Jake the Wonder Dog; and a sister, Jerri Wagenpfeil West of New Orleans.

He was preceded in death by his father, Otto Frederick Wagenpfeil Sr., and mother, Geraldine.

Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Washburn-McReavy's Seman Chapel, 1827 Coon Rapids Blvd., Coon Rapids.

A funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Church of St. Henry, 1001 E. 7th St., Monticello, Minn.

There will be a private interment. Memorials are preferred to Elk River Central Lutheran Church youth.

The family plans to have a crawfish boil in his honor.

Matt McKinney • 612-217-1747