Cop Controversy

“My opinion is, we needed help.”

Darrell Wolf, City Councilman

Zeeland, North Dakota

Zeeland, North Dakota is no stranger to controversy. In this town where the average age is 57 and almost half its 86 residents are over 65, people have strong opinions. The latest conflict started over the gear inside an ambulance. Who owns it? Folks can’t agree. The disagreement led to spatting between neighbors and charges of corruption. To get to the bottom of things, the mayor and town council went looking for help, and that’s when the trouble really began.

The mayor and town council tried the sheriff’s department and state attorney’s office, but no luck. Taking matters into their own hands, they created the Zeeland Police Department. There aren’t any cops, but the mayor and council did appoint a reserve officer to sort out the ambulance mess—no pay and no gun but full powers to investigate and arrest. Problem is, the Zeeland Police Department is illegal. It isn’t licensed and it isn’t allowed to appoint reserve officers.

This left the town in a pickle. The reserve officer, Darrell Graf, was on the job and eager to do his duty. The state told Mr. Graf to stop. He declined. Citing the authority vested in him by the mayor and town council, Mr. Graf stayed on the job, expanding his duties to include an investigation of a sexual assault and a squatters case. He even stopped in a gun shop, asking about law enforcement discounts. To stop the reserve cop gone rogue, last week the state filed charges against Mr. Graf for impersonating a police officer. 

The town wants things to get back to normal. A council member says all they want is to make sure someone responds to 911 calls. Which brings us back to the ambulance. No word yet on if they ever got that one settled.

Read the article ® Elderly N.D. man accused of acting as police officer