Hansen steps down as investigator

Washington Police Sergeant Lyle Hansen recently stepped down from his position as investigator, a position he held for over 20 years. Hansen did not retire but instead returned to work as a patrol officer. He essentially swapped positions with Sergeant Shawn Ellingson, who was promoted to become the new investigator.

Hansen was born and raised in Washington. He graduated from high school in 1979 and shortly thereafter took a job at the HyVee in Washington. He worked at HyVee in Iowa City and later at the Washington County Hospital and Clinics before he decided to become a police officer. Hansen said he felt a calling to enter law enforcement since his father was a state trooper.

?When you see your father come home in a uniform every single day, it can?t help but affect your career choices and mold you as a human being,? he said.

Hansen became a reserve deputy in Washington County in 1983 and in 1985 joined the Washington Police Department. He said he was taught a great deal by police chief Gene Beinke and sheriff Yale Jarvis.

?Chief Beinke was very into professionalism and Sheriff Jarvis held every individual accountable for his actions,? he said.

In 1989, Hansen was promoted to patrol officer and two years later was promoted to the position of investigator, a title he held until last week. As the investigator, Hansen had much less contact with the public. He was responsible for gathering facts about the cases the patrol officers had started and then conducting interviews with persons of interest.

?The bread and butter of any investigation is interviewing skills,? he said.

Hansen said there are two types of conversations he has with persons of interest. One is an interview, which is a leisurely and polite exchange. The other is an interrogation, which is much more aggressive and is intended to elicit information the subject is hesitant to divulge.

?Each officer has to have their own style for how to talk to people,? he said. ?What works for me may not work for Shawn Ellingson or Chief [Greg] Goodman. I try to relate to people. I try not to judge them but to understand how they got themselves in this situation.?

Years ago not all of Hansen?s interrogations were taped, so it was simply his word versus the subject?s word if the case went to trial. Now, all interrogations are taped, so juries can listen to the original interrogation without having to rely on the parties? recollection of it.

Hansen said he does not question subjects with an eye toward convictions, but rather at summoning the truth.

?I don?t get a free toaster by having the most confessions,? he said. ?I get paid whether I get a confession or not.?

Not all suspects are tight-lipped. Some are willing to give the interrogator everything he asks for, and some are willing to admit to crimes they didn?t commit.

?There was an arson case where I interrogated a subject and he admitted to doing it, which is punishable by 25 years in prison,? he said. ?I interviewed him further, and after I interviewed him enough it was apparent he did not commit the arson because he didn?t know certain facts that the true arsonist would know. When we got all done, I left the room and said to myself, ?He didn?t do it.? I went back in there and asked him, ?Why are you admitting to arson when I know and you know you weren?t there?? He said, ?I don?t know. I just liked you and wanted to tell you what you wanted to hear.? That?s where you?ve got to be careful. You have to make sure that the information they give you is corroborated by the evidence at the scene.?

Hansen is in the process of imparting that wisdom to his co-worker Ellingson. In return, Ellingson is bringing Hansen up to speed on the modern technology in the patrol cars, which has changed substantially in the past 20 years.

?There were never any cameras in cars when I started,? Hansen said. ?The radars I was familiar with were ones you held in your hand outside your window.?

Hansen said that he has been on patrol for a week and that it has been ?anything but quiet.?

?In the past six days I?ve made more arrests than I did in six months as an investigator,? he said. ?I?ve had burglaries, assaults, missing juveniles and thefts. At times, it?s hard to get your reports done from the case you were just at.?

Ellingson said he is fortunate to have Hansen to rely on for many years because he is a wealth of knowledge.

?It works out well that we?re going to be on the same shift for awhile,? he said. ?I can lean on him for advice and he can lean on me, too.?