After serving as a law enforcement officer for over 28 years, Mark Horstmann retired in January 2022. During the last 15 years of his career, Mark worked for the Verona Police Department as a sergeant and as a lieutenant. Prior to working for the Verona Police Department, Mark worked for the Dane County Sheriff’s Office as a jail deputy and as a patrol deputy. Mark also worked for the Town of Madison Police Department as a patrol officer and as a field training officer. In addition to his law enforcement career, Mark’s first-responder experience includes serving as a volunteer emergency medical technician for 20 years, and as a volunteer firefighter for 7 years.
Mark has been a member of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Death Response (LEDR) Team since January 2017. Mark also served as a member of the Wisconsin Department of Justice Regional Peer Support Training Cadre. Mark is a certified Unified Tactics instructor, for multiple disciplines, and he has instructed various topics for several years.
Mental wellness and resilience for first responders is something Mark is very passionate about, which he has demonstrated through his peer-support service and through his creation of an employee-wellness program for the Verona Police Department. Mark has been involved in countless group critical incident stress debriefings as both a participant and in various support roles. Mark’s training includes Critical Incident Stress Management for individuals and groups, suicide prevention, law-enforcement trauma and wellness, and various peer-support topics.
