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Meet the IGH Police

Chief & Command Staff
	Chief Melissa Chiodo Police Chief Chief Melissa Chiodo was hired to lead IGH PD in 2019 after 23 years of experience in law enforcement with the City of Minneapolis. Before beginning her career as a patrol officer, she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Communications from St. Catherine University in St. Paul. She went on to serve as a sergeant in investigations and patrol, lieutenant in investigations and patrol, and commander in special crimes and internal affairs. Chief Chiodo earned a master’s degree in criminal justice and police leadership from Concordia University in St. Paul, was a logistics coordinator for the City of Minneapolis during the 35W bridge collapse, the Republican National Convention. She was the logistics Chief for Super Bowl LII and the Incident Commander for the 2019 Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium, she led the COVID-19 emergency response in IGH and co-led the response to the 2020 civil unrest in Dakota County. She is a guest speaker at events and trainings throughout the region and was featured in the PBS documentary Women in Blue in 2021. Having grown up in International Falls in far northern Minnesota, she was drawn to a leadership position in a small city. Chief Chiodo’s priorities for IGH PD include fair and impartial policing, training in de-escalation, outreach with youth and under-served communities and building safer neighborhoods through community policing initiatives. Email
	Sean Folmar Commander, Investigations Division Email Commander Folmar oversees the daily operations of the investigation division. The investigations division has one lieutenant and four investigators. Under his command and control, Commander Folmar is responsible for the department’s investigation operations, which consist of the following areas: family violence, homicide, property crimes, missing persons, robbery, and sexual violence. His command responsibilities also include oversight of the department’s background investigations, drug enforcement program and electronic crime unit program, as well as the evidence room. Commander Folmar started with IGH PD in 1995. He rose through the ranks serving in a wide variety of assignments. He has served in a command-level position since 2011.
	Josh Otis Commander, Administration & Support Services Email Commander Otis oversees the daily operations of the administrative and support services division. The administrative and support services division consists of four civilian staff. Under his command and control, Commander Otis is responsible for the department’s day-to-day administrative duties, as well as the operations of support services, which consists of the management, collection, recording, reporting, release, and storage of department records. This is all accomplished by following the Minnesota Historical Commission Rules, State of Minnesota reporting requirements, court orders, subpoenas, public disclosure requests, and other federal and state reporting requirements. His command responsibilities also include oversight of the department’s internal affairs, data practices, grant management, policy and procedure review, fitness and wellness program, department technology and communications, and alarm program. Commander Otis began his career with the IGH PD in 2001. He rose through the ranks serving in a wide variety of assignments. He has served in command level position since 2012.
	Dennis Haugland Commander, Patrol Division Email Commander Haugland oversees the daily operations of the patrol division. The patrol division consists of six patrol sergeants and twenty-four patrol officers. Under his command and control, Commander Haugland is responsible for the department’s patrol operations which consist of providing police services to the community 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. These services include in-progress crimes, medicals, crisis calls involving psychological/emotional issues, traffic enforcement, motor vehicle crashes, disputes, and general crime reports. His command responsibilities also include oversight on the department's body-worn cameras, mobile video recorders, event coordinator, community policing and crime prevention program, police reserve and police explorer programs, and SWAT. Commander Haugland began his career with the IGH PD in 2005. He rose through the ranks serving in a wide variety of assignments. He has served in a command level position since 2018.

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