Three sheriff candidates advance after interviews

BY K. L. GLOVER

Three candidates for the position of Benson County sheriff have advanced after interviews were conducted with six applicants at the Benson County Courthouse September 4. According to Benson County Auditor Bonnie Erickson, the interviewees who advanced were Matthew Beland, Shawn Cottingham and Laura Wanzek. They are listed alphabetically; the candidates will undergo background checks before formal rankings are assigned.

Matthew Beland attended Minnewaukan Public School. He currently resides in East Grand Forks and has most recently worked for the University of North Dakota Police Department.

Shawn Cottingham has worked in law enforcement since 1997. His last address is Ashley, ND but currently resides in Benson County. His most recent experience is with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Laura Wanzek, a native of Wimbledon, ND, was previously employed as a Benson County deputy between 2016 and 2020. She later joined the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office. According to the March 17, 2016 edition of the Farmers Press, she graduated from Dakota College at Bottineau with an Associate of Science in wildlife management, and from Minot State University with a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice. She also attended LRSC police academy training while at Minot.

Six people sat on the interview panel: Benson County Commissioner/Acting Sheriff Dick Horner; Benson County Commissioner Tammy Kuk; Bonnie Erickson; Benson County State’s Attorney James Wang; Pierce County Sheriff Josh Siegler; and Lori Cline. Earl Charboneau of the Bureau of Indian Affairs was also scheduled to sit on the panel but was unable to make it.

In addition to the three finalists, the other three candidates selected by the Benson County Commission at a special meeting August 26 also came for interviews: Dylan Grant, Tyler Iwen and Troy Nogosek.

The following questions and scenarios were presented to the interviewees:
1. Why do you want to be a sheriff for Benson County?
2. Describe your current job duties and responsibilities.
3. List three of your strengths.
4. List three of your weaknesses.
5. How do you deal with conflict and/or stressful situations? Please cite an example.
6. How would you rate your abilities in performing police duties? Please explain for:
a. Administrative duties
b. Investigation and patrol skills
c. Report writing
7. How do you feel about policing small communities? Responding to calls by yourself and working by yourself?
8. How would shift work affect you? Do you have any problems with rotating shift work, working holiday, working weekends and being on-call?
9. Give an example of a difficult situation you have encountered and the steps you took to deal with this situation.
10. Please give your definition of “community-orientated policing.”
11. How would you rate your communication skills? And what have you done to improve your communication skills?
12. Some say there are two types of police officers, a by-the-book type and a type that uses common sense. Where would you put yourself and why?
13. What type of call/situation are you most fearful to respond to and why?
14. Tell about a leadership role you have held in the past. Describe the key leadership skills you believe you have and how you could demonstrate them in this role.
15. What would be your time frame for residency/relocation to Benson County?
16. Would you be attentive to listening to input from the public?
Additional questions (must be the same for each applicant):
17. How would you restore public trust in Benson County?
18. Would you have an open-or closed-door policy for the office in the courthouse?
19. If employees are at the max allowed on vacation and come to the “use it or lose it” situation, how would you handle that?
Scenarios
What would you do if, during your normal duties, you encountered a local politician (county commissioner or city councilman) who was driving under the influence of alcohol at an excessive level?
What would you do if you were patrolling and you encountered a fellow officer/deputy stealing items from an unsecured building?