Minnesota officer honored by The American Legion

INDIANAPOLIS — The American Legion announced April 1 that Minnesota’s Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer for 2023 has been named as a regional winner.

The Regional Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Awards go to, Nicholas De Felice of Maryland in the Northeast Region, Lacey Pueblo of Oklahoma in the Southwest Region, Ryan Rathbum of Washington in the Western Region, Brad Milstein of Georgia in the Southern Region, and Scott Kostohryz of Minnesota in the Midwest Region.

Kostohryz is a patrol sergeant with the Moorhead Police Department. He started with the department in 2004.

Over the years, he has served as a field training officer, SWAT team member and a detective.

He saved a life in a smoke-filled house on Jan. 8, 2009, while firefighters were already involved in another fire.

On Feb. 18, 2012, he negotiated with a woman who threatened to jump off a bridge and intervened, saving her life.

In 2013, he used a defibrillator on a man suffereing from a heart attack until medical professionals arrived.