The first-ever Lt. Beverly Rodriguez Service Award was presented Friday to a team of Metro Transit Police Department employees who, like her, are devoted to helping the homeless.
The award was presented to the department’s Homeless Action Team — the team that Rodriguez was leading at the time of her death.
The winners of the award — Officers Katherine Kompeleian, Quentin Waterkamp, Junehee Han and Hannah Karau — are continuing to do work that reflects Rodriguez’s “spirit, mission and heart,” Metro Transit Police Department Interim Chief Joseph Dotseth said in presenting the award.
Rodriguez, who drowned on June 22 in White Bear Lake, was “a devoted officer and a fierce advocate for compassion, equity and humanity in policing,” Dotseth said. “Her impact rippled far beyond the badge, touching lives, changing systems and bringing dignity to some of the most vulnerable community members across Minnesota.”
Rodriguez, 40, of Woodbury, joined the Metro Transit Police Department in 2017. After her death, she was posthumously promoted to lieutenant.
Rodriguez’s legacy “continues to guide our work and shape our values,” Dotseth said. “(She) once said, ‘We’re not just here to serve the public, we’re here to understand it.’”
The Homeless Action Team works throughout the region but has focused on St. Paul in the past year with regular details at Central Station downtown and on University Avenue. The team “operates on the front lines of one of the most pressing and complex challenges facing our region: homelessness,” Dotseth said.
Members of Rodriguez’s family, including her sons, Macallen and Macody, were recognized at the awards ceremony, which was held at The Club at Golden Valley. Family members declined to comment after the ceremony.
Supervisor of the Year
Rodriguez also was honored on Friday with the department’s Supervisor of the Year Award. In presenting the award, Officer Peter Eshenaur said Rodriguez earned the title through “unshakable integrity, fierce dedication and unwavering commitment to those she served and served with.”
A framed photo of Metro Transit Police Department Lt. Beverly Rodriguez graced the table outside the department’s annual awards ceremony on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025. Rodriguez was honored posthumously with the department’s Supervisor of the Year Award. (Mary E. Divine / Pioneer Press)
Rodriguez was “more than a supervisor,” he said. “She was a leader, a mentor and a protector, in the truest sense of the word. Her work … was marked by compassion, courage and a rare blend of strength and grace.”
The “depth of her heart” was revealed particularly during her work in “advocating for the most vulnerable in our community,” he said. “Lt. Rodriguez understood that law enforcement is not just about enforcing rules, it is about building trust, offering help and restoring dignity. She saw people, not just problems.”
Metropolitan Council Chairwoman Debra Barber, one of the featured speakers, said the past year has tested the Metro Transit Police Department in many ways, “including some of the most heartbreaking and tragic events that I can ever remember.”
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“I know our lives have changed and the world feels different since June,” she said. “It was a hard summer for Minnesota and for the MTPD family. Our hearts will always hold her light close, and may we always remember how Lt. Beverly Rodriguez led with compassion, humanity and dignity for others.”
Many other Metro Transit officers received awards during the ceremony, including Officers Colin Reardon, Michael Lindstrom, Kham Vang, Peter Yang and Peter Chang, who were recognized for responding to a shooting on May 12 at Fifth and Cedar streets in downtown St. Paul.
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