Deputy Rusk joins PC Sheriff’s Department

Deputy Robert Rusk of Imperial has joined the Perkins County Sheriff’s Department.

Rusk, who is originally from Colorado, spent six years in the National Guard before becoming a police officer.

“As I was transitioning out of the Guard, I wanted to find another way to serve the community, or just to serve people in general,” he said. “That’s why I transitioned to being a police officer.”

He moved on to the police academy and training, where he found a lot of studying and background checks. More than anything, Rusk said, the background checks are probably the hardest part of the process.

“It’s not a job you just hop into,” Rusk noted. “Even after you’re hired, you spend at least a good two years before you have your wits about you on the job. That is so complex and hard. You have to deal with a lot of different people that come from different walks of life and that comes with a big understanding to do so.”

Rusk took a position with the Imperial Police Department in 2016, where he has remained until earlier this month.

He had worked with Chief Deputy Miller before at trainings, and said everyone at the training center spoke very highly of Miller, and the Perkins County Sheriff’s Department in general.

He had also heard people speak very highly of Sheriff Brueggeman, and Rusk said he just got a good feeling about Brueggeman.

“He is a very, very organized and squared away person,” Rusk said. “It seems like he really cares about the job he does.”

In general, Rusk said he felt all the cities and villages in the county maintain themselves very well, and that the community is an “awesome” and “beautiful” place.

His transfer to the Perkins County Sheriff’s Department had been something Rusk was considering for a while before moving, and he said he just came to a point where he was finally ready to make the change.

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