Waseca Police Officer Arik Matson was at the State Capitol today, just over a year after he was shot in the head by a suspect, as lawmakers introduce a bill requiring a minimum 30-year-prison sentence for attempted first-degree murder of an officer, judge, prosecutor or corrections officer. Matson told an assembled group of lawmakers and law enforcement professionals, “Thank you for acknowledging how our jobs as police officers are never normal, and that we have a number of circumstances that can go wrong and be very tragic.” Megan Matson assisted her husband from the podium, saying “we are turning a tragic event that happened to our family into something purposeful.”
Waseca County Attorney Rachel Cornelius says, “The current law does not account for if the officer or officers are gravely injured, almost die, have to learn how to eat, walk and talk all over again, and possibly not ever return to work.” The bill has bipartisan support at the Minnesota Legislature.