Mower County sheriff cleared to return to work after probe, PTSD diagnosis

Mower County Sheriff Steve Sandvik is back at work after an outside investigation did not substantiate a work misconduct allegation in November.

Sandvik took a medical leave of absence shortly after a complaint over his conduct on Nov. 16. The complainant alleged Sandvik was drunk at work, according to county officials.

Sandvik has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Mower County Administrator Trish Harren. The investigation by law firm Ratwik, Roszak & Maloney didn't confirm he was intoxicated, Harren said, but "it was definitely confirmed that he was not in a good state."

"There are a lot of law enforcement officers in this situation who have seen many things over the course of their careers that have really led them to difficult places," Harren said.

Sandvik was cleared by his medical provider to return to a three-day workweek at the beginning of the year. The sheriff returned to full-time duty last week; the county received word of the investigation results on Friday.

Sandvik has not responded to attempts to reach him for comment.

Sandvik began his career in law enforcement in 1997 at the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office and went to work for Mower County in 2001.

Harren said Sandvik's diagnosis has prompted county officials to start talks on how to provide better mental health help for law enforcement, county attorneys and court administration, which could mean more connections to outside resources or hiring in-house support.

"There's a lot of trauma in multiple different positions within county government as we're providing these services," Harren said. "We just need to be more cognizant of that and provide services for our employees."

An increasing number of police officers and other emergency responders around the state have left their jobs over the past few years due to PTSD.

Police officers experience higher than average rates of depression, PTSD, burnout and anxiety, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. A 2020 study done with the Dallas and Ft. Worth, Texas, police departments found 12% of more than 400 officers surveyed had a lifetime mental illness diagnosis. One-fourth of the officers surveyed reported having mental illness symptoms.

Russ Hanes of the Invisible Wounds Project, a Forest Lake-based nonprofit connecting veterans and first responders to mental health resources, said law enforcement and other emergency responders are more reluctant to seek mental health care due to the stigma around dealing with workplace trauma.

It can take some time for first responders to get back to work if they haven't previously sought mental health help.