DETECTIVE PAUL E. OLSON

BADGE 778, ID 1711

SDPD 08/20/1971 - 03/04/2005

07/06/1946 - 03/12/2025

Father of Detective Shelly Luna

THE THIN BLUE LINE

Paul Olson passed away March 12th in Lakeside, California at the age of 78.

Paul was born and raised in Cokato, and was a graduate of the Cokato High School Class of 1964. He and his wife, Linda, raised their family in Lakeside, California.

He had two distinguished careers in life, one with the San Diego, California Police Department, and the other with the U-S Marine Corps.

With the Marines, he served in Vietnam, Laos, Haiti, and in Operation Desert Storm during his 30 year career.

In his 34 years with the San Diego PD, he was a patrol officer, and later served as a detective, as well as a hostage negotiator.

Law enforcement became a family tradition for the Olsons. Paul and Linda’s daughter Kelly is a Division Chief with the San Diego County Probation Department. Daughter Shelly was an officer for the San Diego Police Department, and granddaughter, Kira, is an officer for the Greenville, South Carolina Police Department.

Funeral services for Paul Olson were held on March 20. 2025, at the Stockholm Lutheran Church in Cokato.

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