A year ago, Marilyn Hedstrom was a war protester hard at work among anarchists determined to disrupt the 2008 Republican National Convention.
Or so it seemed.
What the activists didn't know was that Hedstrom -- described by an observer as looking like "somebody's mom" -- was, in fact, a Ramsey County sheriff's deputy working undercover.
For that yearlong effort, Hedstrom was presented Tuesday with the 2009 Excellence in Performance Award by the Minnesota Association of Women Police.
As protester Norma Jean Johnson, Hedstrom won the trust of her activist peers by "Dumpster diving" for food, running errands -- and even helping with security against possible police infiltrators, according to a Star Tribune account in December.
At that time, Sheriff Bob Fletcher credited Hedstrom's work -- and that of two other undercover operatives -- with helping secure conspiracy to commit riot charges against eight members of the RNC Welcoming Committee -- the so-called "RNC 8."
The award presented Tuesday recognizes an officer who encompasses excellent day-to-day performance in the area of investigation and special assignments, a sheriff's office news release said.
Hedstrom has been a sheriff's deputy since 1997, and has worked in courts, detention and special investigations during her career.
