St. Cloud Police Officer Honored With Medal of Commendation for Stopping Armed Suspect at Crossroads Center Mall

(KNSI) — An off-duty St. Cloud police officer was honored Monday night with the department’s Medal of Commendation for stopping an armed suspect running through the Crossroads Center mall.

On December 8th, 2024, Patrol Officer Justin Wagman told KNSI News he was doing some Christmas shopping when he saw a man he knew was wanted on a felony assault charge. He was also aware that the man typically carried a handgun, so he called for on-duty officers to pick up the suspect as he was leaving the mall. That’s when things took a turn. “He ended up fleeing towards the mall in the vestibule area where the kids section is between Target and Macy’s. At that time, I knew the mall was busy Sunday afternoon. I knew if he was able to get into the mall, it would be a low chance of a locating him and apprehending him. And so at that time, I needed to [catch him].”

Without his gun or bulletproof vest, Wagman identified himself as a police officer and chased the suspect down, holding him until backup arrived. The suspect was searched and allegedly was armed with a loaded handgun.

Wagman says it happened so fast, there was no time to think. “It’s something that you kind of have that muscle memory for. Things that you’ve done multiple times, trained multiple times, and been in those scenarios multiple times. You’re not on autopilot, but you just know what you’re doing and you know what has to be done.”

The Medal of Commendation is the second-highest award in the department, behind only the Medal of Valor.

Wagman is a K9 handler and has been with the department for eight years.

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