Six Rally deputies serving Hill City, Keystone

Although the crime rate is not necessarily higher during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Pennington County Sheriff Brian Mueller said the extra traffic in communities is very challenging. Especially since many communities within Pennington County serve as day-ride areas for the people who come for the rally. 

Several years ago a former sheriff brought on some extra staff to help with this, “and it’s been such a relief to our full-time deputies to be able to bring in some folks who can augment our visibility and our resources during our busiest time of the year,” said Mueller. 

The extra paid rally staff allows full-time staff to focus on the calls for service in the area, while the rally deputies focus on the town traffic. Contract communities, however, are not charged for this extra time. 

“It’s just part of what we do to keep those communities safe,” said Mueller. 

This year six rally deputies stepped up to serve in Hill City and Keystone. They were sworn in by Seventh Judicial Circuit Court judge Robert Gusinsky Aug. 2 at the Pennington County Public Safety Building where they promised to “diligently, faithfully and impartially perform all the duties of the office of deputy sheriff as provided by law.”

These deputies will be familiar faces as they have all served in Hill City and Keystone previously. 

“I think many of them enjoy it thoroughly. They like the public aspect where people are asking them directions, where to eat and where to park. But they’re also there if there’s a bad accident or any crime because the traffic potentially wouldn’t have a fast enough response to get there,” said sheriff’s office public information officer Helene Duhamel. 

Serving in Hill City this year are James Jackson and Cody Sunderland. 

Jackson is returning for his fourth year as a rally deputy. He served in Hill City the first year and in Keystone the next two years. Jackson said serving for the rally is something different to do and it is cool to hang out with the other deputies. 

During his time here he anticipates he will be walking the streets, shaking hands, talking to people and giving directions. 

“Everybody is just super nice when you do it. It’s really nice to just go and talk to people,” said Jackson. 

The people are one of the reasons Sunderland continues to come back. Sunderland serves as a sergeant in Brookings County and is back for his eighth year as a rally deputy, having served in Keystone and Hill City. 

Sunderland likes being in the Hills and considers it a little vacation from his primary job to come out and see the people and business owners. He’s made a lot of relationships over the years both with the locals and the other rally deputies. 

“All of us have been here before so it’s when we get to see each other again,” said Sunderland.

While serving as a rally deputy, Sunderland said the most common questions he gets are regarding where to eat and how to get to Mount Rushmore. 

“That’s the biggest part of our job is just talking to people and telling them how to get places,” said Sunderland. 

Meanwhile, in Keystone Rick Rieken, Tom Elmer, James Davis and John Sumsion are serving as rally deputies. 

Rieken is a deputy in Franklin County, Iowa and started coming out for the rally in 2015. 

“I’ve been back every year and really enjoy it. Since I was a kid, I love the Black Hills,” said Rieken. “When this popped up, it was like a win-win. It was a way to come out and work and still get to see the same area.”

This is Rieken’s ninth year serving as a rally deputy in Keystone. Over that time he has gotten to know the shop owners and reconnect with them year after year. One shop owner even expressed a desire to get “that good Iowa sweet corn,” so Rieken brings it up for him every year. 

“We have a lot of positive interaction with the people out there. The folks at the rally are great. You can’t have that many events with between 300,000 and 500,000 people over the course of a week that has as few problems as what they have here. That in of itself is a testament to the people that come out here,” said Rieken. 

“We really like visiting with people, helping them. Some days it doesn’t even feel like a law enforcement job,” Rieken added. 

Instead, Rieken said he acts more like a tour guide showing people around, helping reunite family members that were separated and other things like that. 

“We want to make sure everybody has a great experience whether they’re here for the rally or here to visit the national parks and monuments,” said Rieken. 

Elmer is a Deputy in Faribault County, Minn., and is back for his fifth year as a rally deputy. 

“I like the area, and I like the bikes so it seemed like a good opportunity,” Elmer said. 

Up until now, Elmer has always served in Hill City. While he will miss seeing the people he connected with there, he said, “It’s going to be fun learning the ropes of Keystone this year.” 

Davis, a special deputy at the University of Nebraska in Kearney is back in Keystone for his eighth year as a rally deputy. 

“I think everybody in this room could tell you that the reason we come back up here is to see everybody again,” Davis said. “We’ve gotten very close to people.” 

They have gotten close with the local business owners as well, and Davis said, “We just enjoy spending the week here with them and visiting with them.”

The number of different people you get to see as well as the different types of bikes is amazing, he said. Over the years he has talked to several people traveling internationally from places like Holland and Germany. 

As for the Pennington County Sheriff's Office, Davis said you cannot ask for better people to work for.

Sumsion is a Deputy Sheriff at the Polk County Sheriff's Office in Nebraska. After a four year gap, Sumsion is back for his sixth year as a rally deputy in Keystone. 

“It’s a working vacation for me. It’s fun to see some familiar faces,” said Sumsion. He also said that he enjoys working in Keystone and loves the scenery, especially seeing Mount Rushmore in the background. 

“It’s good to see some of the gentlemen I’ve worked with before coming back up and seeing the crew here at the sheriff's office,” said Sumsion. 

As a rally deputy, he sees the position as representing the department and handling smaller concerns. 

“We’re out there just to basically put the department in a good light. So they’re putting a lot of trust in us to have us out here. And it’s one that I take great pride in,” said Sumsion.

“The fact that we’ve got the same crew that come out here year after year I think is a testament to how we treat them, but it’s how our communities appreciate law enforcement here,” said Mueller. “They’re part of our office and part of our communities.

“We’re extremely excited that they’re willing to continue to come back and share their time. A lot of them have to take vacation from their primary jobs to come out here so that’s a big commitment for them and their families to let them come out and continue this partnership. We just appreciate seeing all their faces back again this year.”

With the extra traffic and road congestion, Mueller said to make sure you are comfortable in your machine, know the equipment and understand how to adjust it whether that be a motorcycle, camper, SUV or car. 

He also recommended taking extra time to get to your destination. According to Mueller, “A lot of time our accidents are a result of inexperienced riders or people who are impatient and in a hurry trying to get through the congested traffic too quickly.”

However, Mueller said that most people understand this and have a great experience.