Season of service: Retiring police chief reflects, looks ahead

By Danielle Ferguson, for Pigeon605

Matt Burns’ last year as chief of the Sioux Falls Police Department was setting up to be one that would end with a list of big accomplishments.

The department had just presented a proposal to the South Dakota Attorney General’s office to create the state’s first-ever remote training academy in Sioux Falls.

The Sioux Falls City Council was in favor of a new police and fire training center for which Burns had long advocated.

Morale within the department was finally on the rise after years of national tension between cities and their police force, he said.

Burns didn’t know then, in the first months of 2020, that the end of his 25-year stint with the Sioux Falls Police Department would come amid a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and the most influential national movement against police brutality.

It was all famously unprecedented. The department had to make quick changes.

“We updated guidance regularly, sometimes on a daily basis,” he said. “It’s difficult to navigate and lead and perform the mission in that environment.”

But Burns stuck to an intention he set when he took the role as chief six years ago: Provide good customer service.

“That’s one of the things I’m proudest of our team: They pivot to the next challenge. They have done that consistently, regardless of challenges put before them,” he said.

He has aimed to continue that level of service through every strife the department has faced, and as he’s preparing to retire on July 23, he said his department has done just that and more.

“There’s a season of service. You do what you can for the time that you’re there, and there’s an appropriate time to hand it off to fresh eyes, fresh leadership and to the next generation,” Burns said. “It’s been a serious goal of mine and my intent to leave it better than I found it, and frankly, I found it pretty good.”

When he was appointed chief in 2015, his goals were to increase the department’s social media presence, fit officers with body cameras, enforce the law, prevent crime and provide good customer service.

Burns got to work.

The department’s social media presence has expanded drastically, going from roughly 6,000 Twitter followers in 2015 to more than 20,000 today. There are more than 45,000 followers on the department’s Facebook page.

Burns isn’t the biggest fan of social media, he said, but he knows it’s where a lot of residents receive information. There’s a “dark side” to social platforms, but they also can be used to interact with the public, he said.

Every officer in the department now has a body camera, a feat that took years of research and testing of equipment and data storage capabilities. Interaction with the public previously was captured on cameras mounted in vehicles.

“There are many law enforcement agencies that jumped in and didn’t do due diligence on their systems because they didn’t take time to research the cost of (data storage) space,” Burns said. “We fully vetted it. We have a reputation of doing it the right way.”

Burns grew up on a farm in southeast Iowa. After high school, he was a radar technician for the Air Force until 1992. He received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Central Missouri. He joined the Sioux Falls Police Department in 1996, his first job in law enforcement. He has been a SWAT team member, detective, lieutenant and assistant chief before his mayoral appointment to chief in October 2015.

Burns became chief at a time when the city and the labor union that represents officers were at an impasse over wages, retention and training. It took more than half of Burns’ time in office for the two sides to come to an agreement for a new labor contract, which began this year and includes stipulations for raises, personal days, and recruitment and retention efforts.

“I learned about who we are as a department. Even in the midst of that, every officer in this department knew their mission,” Burns said. “They never shrank from their duty even though they were upset, rightfully so at the time; I totally understood. Not one call was missed. Not one point of customer service was lost.”

Burns aimed to maintain that professionalism as he and the department prepared to work with local protesters when residents in cities across the nation rose against the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, under the knee of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who was later sent to prison for second-degree murder.

Burns was proud of the planned peaceful protest that occurred during the daylight hours of May 30, 2020. Later that Sunday night, a smaller group of people not associated with the peaceful protest earlier began clashing with officers, throwing bottles and rocks at police in The Empire Mall parking lot. The city issued a curfew, and officers deployed tear gas.

“A lot of voices got to be heard and appropriately so. We were proud to stand with those folks and say, ‘This is your time,’” he said.

“I learned a lot about our city during the civil unrest last summer and how much our city truly appreciates its law enforcement. We’re very understanding and sensitive to others’ points of views and concerns; we still have a healthy respect for the rule of law in our city.”

The challenges his predecessor Chief Doug Barthel warned him about are issues his successor still will have to face, Burns said. The city is still battling drug-fueled crime, and an ever-increasing population adds to the already high call volume officers respond to.

“Frankly, that growth is going to strain all of city government,” Burns said. “But I like our odds. I think Sioux Falls believes it can.”

Burns said he’s confident his team and the next chief in line will take care of the city, and he thinks he achieved his goal of leaving the department better than he found it.

The Sioux Falls City Council gave the go-ahead on a $50 million bond for a new long-awaited police and fire training center. The department opened its first report-to-work station, and there are plans to add more across the city, a move Burns said is the future of policing.

He helped lead the department’s role in the opening of the community triage center, The Link. Under his tenure, three community resource officers, including a new position dedicated to mental health connections, were added. The new remote law enforcement training center is going to help fill open roles for years to come.

Burns said he has learned a lot about people during his time as a police officer. He saw people stoop to the lowest “depths of depravity” he could never imagine, but he also witnessed community members step up and help each other out when needed.

He’s going to miss the people he works with most of all, he said.

“I’m very proud of this team for their focus, determination, their level of dedication to their jobs. They’re the most amazing professionals I’ve ever been around. They know how to get the job done.”

Lt. Jon Thum will take over the role of chief after Burns retires July 23.