The Good Life Magazine – September-October 2023

LOCAL HERO | BILL AHLFELDT
“My purpose is to be a
guardian or protector. I
was made to do this.”
– Bill Ahlfeldt
to be involved in a
person’s life when
they need someone
the most.”
He says a simple traffic crash could be just one of three
in a day for an officer, but for the people involved, that
simple crash could be the only one they ever experience.
“It may be the only experience with law enforcement
they are going to have,” he said. “How you treat them
at that time is going to leave a lasting impression of not
only your department but law enforcement as a whole.
If law enforcement is involved in a negative situation in
another part of the country, we pay for it in North Dakota
as well. And we have to understand and be accepting of
that, and we have to understand another side of it and
say ‘yeah, I can see why people might see it that way.
This is the only experience they've had.’”
But the hatred of their profession that stems from
incidents in other parts of the world can be taxing.
“Law enforcement almost has to put on this facade
because we’re the protectors, we’re the guardians,
right? But (officers) are very emotional, caring people
and they care about their community. They didn’t go
into the job because they didn’t care. So when portions
of the community hates, it affects us. Emotionally and
mentally.”
However, as Ahlfeldt says, the Fargo-Moorhead
community is different.
“We live in a very supportive community with great
people,” Ahlfeldt said. “I’m not going to say it’s been
easy, but our community has definitely supported us
through everything. We are very fortunate.”
This is especially evident in the wake of tragedies such
as the 2016 death of Officer Jason Moszer, as well as
July 14, 2023, when Officer Jake Wallin sacrificed his
life in the line of duty.
“Our community is just so supportive of our mission
here and of us,” he said. “This person just gave their life
for their community and you see this huge outpouring
of support. Our culture in the upper Midwest is just very
good at that.”
Support within the department has evolved as well.
The peer support team works to help lessen the
impacts of post-traumatic stress with officers through
many different methods. The team also looks for signs
officers might be showing that indicate they may need
additional support and provides resources for them to
reach out to if they need help.
Lesson Four: Sometimes it’s about the
5-9, not the 9-5.
Ahlfeldt’s life isn’t entirely about his career though.
The Police Captain enjoys hunting and fishing in
34 | THE GOOD LIFE