22 March 2024
North St. Paul’s police chief is returning to his roots at the Ramsey County sheriff’s office, where he’ll become an undersheriff.
Phil Baebenroth’s last day as chief will be April 5, City Manager Brian Frandle told the City Council at its meeting this week.
Phil Baebenroth (Courtesy of the City of North St. Paul)
Baebenroth became North St. Paul’s chief in August 2021, replacing Tom Lauth who led the department for more than 30 years.
He said he’s proud that he’s been able to increase staffing.
There were 17 officers when Baebenroth became chief and he said he knew “right away that was not sufficient for public safety in North St. Paul.” He requested and received additional funding from the City Council, starting with an additional supervisor and one additional patrol officer.
This year, they added a second investigator: “I was making a big push for that, based on our caseload,” Baebenroth said. “Having only one investigator was just not sufficient” and burning out staff. The department also received funding from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to backfill a position, so they’re now at 21 officers.
It was a tough decision to leave, Baebenroth said.
“I’ve gotten to love the city,” he said Friday. “We’ve got a great department here full of people with big hearts that care a lot about North St. Paul and public safety in general.”
Baebenroth started his career as a correctional officer for the Ramsey County sheriff’s office in 2009 and became a deputy in 2010. He rose through the ranks, becoming commander of patrol operations, co-commander of the Ramsey County SWAT team, creator of the drone team and leader of the sheriff’s office school resource officers.
When the opportunity at the Ramsey County sheriff’s office came up, Baebenroth said he applied because “it’s kind of like going home.”
He’ll be taking over as an undersheriff from Tina McNamara, who retired earlier this year. Baebenroth will be in charge of the sheriff’s office training department and the office’s mobile response teams that respond to civil disobedience, along with having some responsibility for court security, said Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who added that he’s been trying to recruit him back.
Fletcher said he expects Baebenroth will be able to use his newly earned doctorate in his training role at the sheriff’s office.
Baebenroth began working on his doctorate in educational leadership in 2018 at Concordia University and, while continuing to work full-time, completed it last year. His dissertation was about increasing law enforcement wellness, considering that officers are more likely to die by suicide than be killed in the line of duty.
North St. Paul Police Sgt. Ray Rozales will serve as acting police chief, which he’s done in the past. An internal job posting for the chief job is open, Frandle said.
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