HURON — On April 19, Huron Police Chief Kevin Van Diepen will say goodbye to the department that has been his home, and his second family, for nearly 36 years.

He’d gladly start all over again, though.

“When I retire, it will be two months shy of 36 years,” Van Diepen expressed. “People laugh when I say that I have two families, but in reality, I spend more time with the department than with my wife, my kids, and now my grandkids. Now I get to spend more time with my ‘first family.’”

“That said, I would do it all again in a heartbeat,” he added. “If I could start all over again, the body wouldn’t let me now, but I’d definitely do it again.”

Van Diepen reflected on what first brought him to the Huron Police Department (HPD) and the city of Huron.

“When I first interviewed with the panel to join the department, I let them know that I was interested in a career, not just a job,” Van Diepen recalled. “I wanted something that I could advance in, eventually make it to the top, and then retire when I’m ready - and that’s where we’re at now.”

He was able to experience almost every role in the department in his years with HPD.

“I’ve done everything from patrol officer to an agent with the South Dakota Drug Task Force, through the department,” Van Diepen explained. “I came back from that role, and within a few weeks I was made Patrol Sargeant, then I went to Patrol Captain, an administrative Captain, and finally to the position I’m in now.”

“I did interview and was offered the role of detective, but that would have been a demotion at the time, so I denied that one,” he added.

The HPD that Van Diepen joined 36 years ago has changed significantly in his time on the force.

“There’s a lot of changes when you look at it, when you look at the equipment we had versus what we have now,” the Chief noted. “Also how we interact with people. When I started, we might encounter a drunk driver and get him a ride home, but now with the lawsuits that have been going around, to protect ourselves, we’re not allowed to do that.”

“We’ve also become one of the most diverse cities in South Dakota, if not the Midwest,” he continued. “We had a college at the time, and that required working with ‘different’ people, but now we’re working with different ethnicities and we need to learn to communicate with them and work with them - and that’s a joint venture with our ethnic communities in town and our police force to learn from each other.”

Van Diepen explained that many of those who have come to this country are unfamiliar with American laws and have also come from countries where law enforcement could be intimidating or powerful rather than a partner within the community. He explained that having one Karen officer on staff and two more in the training process has been a significant asset to the HPD, and he sees an opportunity to bring on a Spanish-speaking officer to reach that growing population within the community.

Regarding the changes in equipment, Van Diepen stated that the changes are in large part to protect everyone, officers and community members alike.

“We went from using a six-shooter to semi-automatic handguns to tasers,” he said. “Everybody has a camera now - the cars have a camera inside and outside, officers have a camera on themselves. That’s truly to protect everyone. It keeps the officer honest and keeps the public honest. If something happens, we can review that to check everyone’s story involved.”

On top of diversity, Huron also has a significant population of those working with developmental disabilities and severe and persistent mental health conditions while working to live independently. Response by police departments to those in a crisis moment, especially mental health crisis, has been a national issue, but Van Diepen notes that community relationships have allowed the response of the HPD to be measured and considerate of the person in crisis for years before this became a national issue.

“People when they reach a point of crisis, it’s good to have the officers that respond trained to de-escalate a situation,” Van Diepen replied, noting that the HPD has had numerous trainings with Community Counseling Services in town and also further trainings for officers. “Working with CCS, we have the ability to work with that staff when responding to a person in crisis and allow that person to de-escalate with the person that he or she can trust and talk to in order to resolve the situation and move forward, whether that’s to get further help or change medications or whatever is needed.”

Van Diepen noted that the ability to work with all the facets of the mental health system has allowed Huron to be an example and a model for communities throughout the state.

“We’ve streamlined the petition process when someone is in crisis and needs to be evaluated by the QMHP (Qualified Mental Health Professional),” Van Diepen relayed. “When I talk to other chiefs and sheriffs around the state, they have to sit with the person throughout the process. Instead, we work through electronic communication and can keep them safe until they can be evaluated.”

He added, “Our officers are with someone in crisis typically for no more than an hour, while around the state, they’re spending six, eight, ten hours with someone waiting for evaluation. We’ve almost always had the person evaluated within three hours so their life is not put on hold. They can get the help they need or get home, and our officers aren’t off the street for hours at a time.”

Van Diepen observed that when he leaves the HPD, the next most senior officer on staff will have half of his tenure, with a number of recent retirements of officers that he served many years with.

The annual Shop With a Cop is something Van Diepen always attends, just like National Night Out, but he’s not one to jump in front of the camera, but he attends each event and sees those events as huge as far as HPD bridging a relationship with members of the community.

He also reflected on the change of the officers involved at the school system, as the public safety program first began during his career with HPD, and school resource officers have come from that. Using social media is another thing that has developed with the department in his time in Huron.

“People nowadays with social media, it’s almost better than a scanner,” Van Diepen chuckled. “It helps us as people will share something we put out there quickly and spread the word, but it also hinders us, because even if we say to ‘stay away’ there are always lookie-loos that have to come by something going on.”

The Huron City Commission approved Derek Layher as the Police Chief in Training in August of 2023, and in February appointed Adam Doerr as the deputy chief. Van Diepen observed that this should allow the transition to be smooth as he’s been mentoring and training Layher for the role now for six months, and he’s recently moved into an advisory role to allow Layher to take more of the reigns of the department.

“We’re lucky because Doerr is the most senior officer we have on staff, but every officer is different,” the chief smiled. “Derek will change things - I changed things. I’m confident in the leadership we have moving forward, especially Derek in the time I’ve had to work with him since this was announced last fall. It’s headed in a good direction.”

When asked about the thing he’ll miss the most, Van Diepen quickly responded that the people community would be what he missed most - the community, the fellow officers, and the interaction in his current role with people in the community and department.

“I think the lack of routine is going to be the toughest thing right away when I don’t have to come to work,” he continued, with a chuckle. “My wife might get really annoyed with me.”

While Van Diepen is leaving his role with HPD, he’s looking toward further service to the community of Huron because he strongly believes in the growth and positive environment of the community.

“I moved here in 1985 from Sioux Falls, and I wouldn’t go anywhere else,” Van Diepen said. “I love the city, I love the department, and it all works together, and that’s what makes it work.”