Former Johnnie, Current St. Cloud Police Assistant Chief Brett Mushatt Receives Bob Basten Award

(KNSI) – St. Cloud Police Assistant Chief Brett Mushatt was honored by his alma mater Saturday, receiving Saint John’s University’s Bob Basten Award at halftime of the Johnnies’ game against Bethel at Clemens Stadium.

The award goes each year to a former Johnnie football player who shows outstanding leadership, stays involved with his community and the university, carries a sense of fair play beyond the football field and shows an overall commitment to excellence.

Mushatt joined the St. Cloud Police Department as an officer in 2002 and worked his way up through the ranks, becoming assistant chief in 2022. Before that, he held several roles with the Boys and Girls Club of Central Minnesota, where he still serves on the board of directors.

He has also served on the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust’s Peer Support Advisory Board, made up of people from law enforcement, the fire service and mental health fields. Away from work, Mushatt has been a volunteer coach at Sauk Rapids High School for 17 seasons with the football team’s defensive backs, and for the past seven seasons in track and field.

A 1994 graduate of St. Cloud Tech High School, Mushatt picked Saint John’s over the University of Minnesota and South Dakota State because he wanted to stay close to home. He became a four-year starter at defensive back and earned All-American honors in 1996, when his nine interceptions tied for third-most in a season in school history. His 15 career interceptions are also tied for third on the program’s all-time list.

The award is named for Bob Basten, a 1982 Saint John’s graduate who went to training camp with the Minnesota Vikings before a successful career as a business executive. Basten died of ALS in 2012.

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