Beyond The Badge

In February of 2017, Officer Ottesen responded to a local clinic for a welfare check. The clinic reported that a 19 year old female had wandered into the clinic and was hanging out in the lobby. She was not properly dressed for the cold weather and had nowhere to go. When Officer Ottesen arrived he learned the woman was homeless, and had some developmental disabilities.  She had been living with her mother but they were kicked out of their apartment and her mother was now in a nursing home. The woman could not stay with her mother at the nursing home and family that she had in the area would not take her in. Officer Ottesen called local resources to see if he could find her a place to stay but had no success. The temperatures were low and instead of leaving her on her own to roam from place to place looking for shelter, Officer Otteson paid for a two night stay at a local hotel with his own money.  He also provided her with phone numbers to resources that could possibly assist her. Officer Ottesen went above