Thousands honor slain Aitkin County deputy
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Updated 5 p.m. | Posted 8:23 a.m.
Aitkin County Sheriff's Deputy Steven Sandberg was remembered Friday as a devoted family man who loved being the hometown cop.
Some 3,000 people, including an estimated 2,000 from law enforcement, came to the small town to honor Sandberg, who was killed in the line of duty last weekend. Gov. Mark Dayton ordered all U.S. and Minnesota state flags be flown at half-staff in tribute.
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At his funeral, he was praised as someone always true to his word who died trying to keep the peace.
Sandberg, a sheriff's department investigator, had a "deep-rooted caring and compassion" that he brought to the people he found in difficult situations during his investigations, Aitkin County Sheriff Scott Turner told mourners.
While he was proud to be a cop, "he never let that become his life identity," Turner said. "He let the content of his character determine who he was."
Sandberg was a 24-year veteran of the sheriff's department and was fatally shot while monitoring a domestic violence suspect at St. Cloud Hospital last Sunday. Danny Hammond, 50, died after being subdued by hospital security and another sheriff's deputy about to relieve Sandberg. Authorities have not said more about what happened.
Sandberg's friends and family remembered him as a natural at his job — a careful listener good at drawing out the people he dealt with, good and bad.
Sandberg was also a volunteer firefighter for 17 years. He is survived by his wife Kristi and teenage daughter, Cassie.
Cassie told mourners of precious times with her father shooting baskets or playing on the local tennis courts at dusk.
"My dad always tried to get across that having strength didn't mean showing it outward to everyone, but using that inner strength to have poise and confidence, and then channeling it to help others," she said.
"My dad showed me how to treat people like human beings," she added. "That's what set him apart."
Sandberg was the first member of the Aitkin sheriff's office to die in the line of duty. He was laid to rest in a small cemetery south of town.
