TAHS grad and former Tracy police officer recognized as he continues to climb the law enforcement ladder
By Per Peterson
All it took was one ride-along in his uncle’s squad car when he was a kid to convince Dusty Demuth.
“I did a ride-along, and I was kind of hooked from there,” said Demuth, a former Tracy Police officer who was recently named Lyon County Deputy of the Year by Sheriff Eric Wallen. “I was probably 12, 14, somewhere in there. The way he interacted with the community is what made the difference for me. People always seemed to have a smile when they were talking to him.”
Demuth said being recognized as Deputy of the Year is a big honor.
“I was surprised when the sheriff approached me with the award,” he said. “It’s nice to know that your hard work pays off after a while.”
Demuth was born and raised near Vesta and graduated from Tracy Area High School in 2014. After that, he earned his associate’s degree in law enforcement from Alexandria Tech and started working part time for the Tracy Police Department in November 2016. During that time, he was wrapping up his bachelor’s in law enforcement administration from Southwest Minnesota State University. He jumped from part time to full time in Tracy in March 2018. He moved to his current county position in February 2019.
See this week’s Headlight Herald for more on this article.