Dunn County sheriff resigns; Will find work in the oil field

Talk about it

Manning will soon have a new sheriff in town.

Dunn County Sheriff Don Rockvoy said Saturday that he offered his resignation to the county’s Board of Commissioners last week and plans to leave his post at the end of the month.

Rockvoy said his pending departure is due to personal reasons.

“I want to pursue other work,” Rockvoy said. “I’m more of a road-type person as far as law enforcement goes. The politics of being sheriff these past couple of years — the politics of it was something I didn’t care for. I know it has to be that way, but sitting at a desk just isn’t my idea of law enforcement and that’s something I finally realized.”

Rockvoy came to Dunn County as a deputy in April 2009 and was appointed sheriff that July. He retained his position after being formally elected to the post in 2010. The resignation is the second major loss in less than a month for the sheriff’s office. Former Chief Deputy Ronald Krivoruchka left in February amid allegations of misconduct after less than a year with the sheriff’s office.

Originally from Willow City, Rockvoy said he has been working in law enforcement since 2005 but plans to leave the field and re-enter the private sector as a truck driver in the Oil Patch.

“It became more apparent over the past couple of years that I was more suited for the road,” Rockvoy said. “There are stressors with this job. There are stressors in all areas of law enforcement But, as sheriff, you have more responsibilities. I didn’t want that (stress) to start to affect my health, which it can.”

Rockvoy also has faced criticism from some during his time as sheriff, though he was never formally accused of misconduct.

“This is a very different place than when I came here in 2009,” Rockvoy said. “It was pretty quiet back then. We have more crime, traffic accidents, just everything in Dunn County now. It creates a lot of stress with maintaining staff and getting training done. Where I’m going, the money will be substantially more, but that’s not why I’m leaving. It was just time.”

In early 2012, Rockvoy fired former deputy Leif Anderson after he crashed patrol cars three times in a period of less than a year. Later in the year, a squad car Rockvoy was operating had what was reported as an electrical malfunction, causing the vehicle to catch fire which led to an explosion of ammunition that was being stored in the trunk.

“Accusations against me have all been answered,” Rockvoy said. “That didn’t have anything to do with my (resignation). If I was leaving because of that — those were a while back. It had nothing to do with my decision. We had some turnover with employees and I don’t know where it come from, but there was nothing to any of that at all.”

County Commissioner Daryl Dukart said he was pleased with the job Rockvoy did as sheriff.

“I think he did a good job for us and I’m sorry to see him leave,” Dukart said. “He’s been the sheriff the entire time I’ve been a commissioner and I’ve not heard of any problems with the job he’s done. I expect we’ll hire an interim sheriff (once Rockvoy leaves) and we’ll go from there.”

Tags: dunn county, don rockvoy, news, sheriff, resign