Device aids police mission

After months of design work and weeks of welding, Heinz Winterscheidt presented the Superior Police Department with a new tool Monday.

The 9-foot-long deployment pole is a robust 20 pounds of steel and cable. It is capable of breaking through safety glass to deliver a distraction device — which disorients people with a loud sound and flash of light — exactly where it is needed.

“It functions very well and it was built at a cost of approximately $100 in materials,” said Assistant Police Chief Charles LaGesse. “Heinz donated his talents and efforts in the construction of the pole and it saved the department approximately $900 over buying a commercially-available unit.”

It may not be as polished as a commercial device, Winterscheidt said, but it gets the job done.

“My philosophy is do it right or don’t do it at all,” said the Superior man.

Winterscheidt’s son Paul, an officer with the Superior Police Department and a member of its Emergency Response Team, first approached his father with the idea of building the pole. It took months to develop and design the item, which holds the distractive device in place and triggers it with the pull of a lever. Winterscheidt, who has been welding since age 15, said the actual build time for the deployment pole was about two weeks.

“And I can’t say how much I appreciate him spending his time and his talents as a metalworker, designer to build something that helps our team and does so very cost effectively,” LaGesse said.

The item will be stored for use by the department’s Emergency Response Team.

“We don’t often use distractive devices, but when we do this will allow us to do so in a very effective and safe manner,” LaGesse said. Instead of tossing such a device into a building, the pole lets law enforcement officers have control where it is when they set it off.

Winterscheidt said he was happy to help. He has been drawn to law enforcement since he was a youth in Germany. He applied for the force at the age of 18, but didn’t meet the 6-foot height requirement for a German police officer at the time. The Superior man, however, has found other ways to serve. He has been active in the local Civil Air Patrol and offers nautical cleaning and security control services.

“I’m a volunteer and I’m for the community,” Winterscheidt said, and helping the law enforcement team helps everyone in the community.

“It’s for all of us, not just the police department, because the police department is for all of us,” he said.

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