A cop, social worker and private investigator walk into a coffeehouse ... meet St. Paul's 'Wild' Bill

At 93, "Wild" Bill Johnson leans a little harder on his cane when he walks. But the smile's still there, and the laughter.

And the stories? Well, if you're lucky enough to spy Johnson on one of the mornings he drops into Nina's Coffee Cafe — or while he's sitting in his front yard near St. Paul Academy's Lower School — be prepared for a story, a really interesting story. Wild Bill's got a bunch of them.

Eye On St. Paul recently met with Johnson to learn a little more about a fascinating life well-lived. This interview was edited for length — unfortunately.

Q: Where are you from?

A: Sioux Falls, S.D.

Q: When did you come to Minnesota? What brought you here, a job?

A: 1965, and I had two. Psychiatric social worker at Fergus Falls State Hospital and I was also a cop in a little town north of there.

A: Here's what happened: The professional staff of psychologists and social workers used to go out to this little town to drink because Fergus Falls was historically dry. So we'd drive the 8 miles. Well, the first time they took me out there, the glass was out of the front of one of the bars. I asked what happened. Well, the last cop got thrown through the window. Evidently the cops they had were not really cops. They gave them a hat.

Q: What was the name of the town?

A: Elizabeth. They called it E-Town.

They said, "You know, we're having a helluva time. We can't get anybody to be a cop because it's kind of a rough place." I said, "I'll talk to my wife and if she approves, I'll do it for you." Well, I'd been a cop in Sioux Falls. I'd also been a cop in Vermillion, S.D., when I was going to college. I told my wife — we were short of money because we had three kids — and I said, "I'll do it." I came down to St. Paul, to Uniforms Unlimited, and bought a uniform. It's the first time they'd ever seen a cop with a full uniform, except from when the deputy sheriff was there.

Q: You're a veteran. When were you in the service and what branch?

[Later] they needed a corpsman back on the East Coast. And I volunteered to go up there. I was the only corpsman with a few Marines who were forward observers for the Navy bombardment.

I got sick. There was an illness going around. Hemorrhagic fever. I got on the radio and called the USS Toledo and asked for a consultation with the medical officer. He got on the radio. I told him my symptoms and he said, "The 'copter is on the way. We're picking you up."

In Japan, I remember I got interviewed by a psychiatrist. He asked, "Are you really anxious to get back to your guys?" And I said, "Are you out of your mind?" He said, "Where's your esprit de corps?" And I said, "Have you ever been in a bunker?"

Q: Let's go back to E-Town. You worked as a social worker during the day and moonlighted as a cop? How long did that go on?

A: I did that for 16 years. [laughs]

A: I came to [St. Paul] in, let's see, 1982. I came here [to work for] a mental health advocacy program. I did that for 13 years.

Q: Did you do any law enforcement work at that time?

A: I was a volunteer for the [St. Paul] Police Department.

Q: Have you had formal police training?

A: At Sioux Falls. I should mention that I was kind of a radical when I came back from Korea. I was treated for post-traumatic stress. I didn't do anything heroic. [pauses]. I got shot at quite often. It's just that ... what I saw … an enemy firefight, 18 bodies, our guys. Like I said, I just did my job.

I was treated for post-traumatic stress at college, and I was a cop. And all of a sudden, I wanted to play football in college. [laughs] I played just a couple of games. I gotta tell you what kind of a scholar I was. When I graduated from college in 1964, there were 525 students [in the class]. I was 524^th.

Q: When did you start as a private investigator?

A: While I was a social worker [laughs]. I turned my license in when I was 85.

Q: What kinds of cases did you work on?

A: Mostly for lawyers, criminal defense.

A: Oh, looking back, I have to admit it's been kind of erratic.

Q: Do you do anything else?