St. Louis Park police help deliver a newborn in a parking lot. But the family's ties to law enforcement run deeper.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. — It's not the 911 call St. Louis Park police officer Maddie Turnquist expected on a night shift a few weeks ago — helping deliver a baby wasn't part of the job description when she took an oath to protect and serve her community.
"We're not taught how to deliver babies, no," she joked.
But she answered the call and a doctor's, too, to help guide her through the delivery. With Turnquist and other officers on the scene, baby Theo made his big debut in the backseat of his parents' car.
"I was focused on that and the mom and making sure the baby cried when [he] came out and make sure [he] was breathing," Turnquist told WCCO.
His grandfather, John Tragiai, said Theo and his mom, Katelyn, are healthy and doing well. He later called the St. Louis Park police chief to express his gratitude for their help, but also to share that his family intimately understands the important work they do.
Tragiai was himself an officer in the St. Cloud Police Department. But that's not where the law enforcement ties end. He came into his daughter Katelyn's life after his wife and Katelyn's mother, Wendy, had lost her then-husband St. Joseph police officer Brian Kleinfelter in the line of duty.
He was shot and killed in 1996 while trying to stop a liquor store robbery. Katelyn, Tragiai said, was only months old. He later adopted her when she was 4 years old.
"[Kleinfelter's] hand was in that delivery and I just felt compelled to share that part of the story with the chief," Tragiai said.
Their personal story makes them especially grateful to Turnquist and her colleagues who answered the call that night.
"Law enforcement plays such an important role in our lives. And let's not forget who they are and what they do," he told WCCO. "When tragedy strikes, when you're in it, it's difficult to see outside of it. Just knowing that there is good that comes out of tragedy — the Kleinfelter family, our family, Katelyn — we've all been blessed in so many different ways. We would have never seen that back in 1996."
"So maybe it's just giving people a little bit of hope," he said.
Turnquist explained it was refreshing to hear from the family that she made an impact on them, but it's just part of the job.
"When you call, we're going to show up," she said.
