St. Paul cop receives state's top police honor

Nearly a decade ago, when current St. Paul Police Chief John Harrington first eyed officer Troy Greene, he thought that any undercover drug sting Greene worked would be doomed.

"He looked like your everyday suburban dad," Harrington said Monday. "I didn't think there was a dope dealer in the world that would try to sell to him."

Harrington spoke while on his way to a ceremony in Alexandria, Minn., honoring Greene as Minnesota Peace Officer of the Year for his role in striking a blow to the state's illegal drug trade and the Latin Kings street gang.

"I've seen Troy come up from being a street cop to being a big-time detective," Harrington said. "He's not only taking St. Paul cases, but statewide cases of national importance."

In March, about 300 officers fanned out across the metro area, arresting people indicted on weapons and drug charges and believed to be associated with the Latin Kings. The raids culminated an investigation that started with a drug bust in the fall of 2004.

Greene is credited with developing the sources for more than 30 drug buys and coordinating hundreds of local, state and federal officers.

Among the 32 people charged in connection with the sweep, 27 are thought to be confirmed Latin Kings members, including the head of the gang, the second-in-command and leaders of neighborhood affiliates.

Remembering his earliest experience with Greene, Harrington said, it didn't take long for the officer to prove that first impressions can be faulty.

"I would look at surveillance tape of the buy and couldn't tell who he was," Harrington said.

Greene's persistence and dedication to the Latin Kings investigation, dubbed Operation Wild Kingdom, reflects the kind of person he is, Harrington said.

"Troy never lost sight of why we do these investigations," he said.

Greene said he is proud of the award but deflected the kudos back to the hundreds who helped the operation. It is a credit to the administration to let him and the others work the case for so long, with no immediate rewards in sight, he said.

"A lot of times our job is to go out and answer calls and put what seems like Band-Aids on problems," he said. "The other part is to find long-term solutions. That, sometimes, requires long-term investigations. Here, we were all able to do something worthwhile."

Howie Padilla • 651-298-1551