Parent of child assaulted in Minnesota high school fight says ‘safety of all kids’ in jeopardy without SROs

A parent who says her child was assaulted during a fight last Friday at Mankato East High School is speaking out about the need for school resource officers (SROs).

“SROs not being in the schools is not helpful to keeping students safe,” Nashawn Williams said. “I think that removing the SROs from the schools was really a bad idea. I understand the situation that the new laws place the SROs in, and I think it was a really bad idea.”

Mankato East High School went into lockdown Friday morning for about 30 minutes as police responded to the incident. A video of the fight shows Williams’ son on the ground as he is punched and kicked by other students, she said. The school is one of dozens across the state without an SRO on campus this fall in response to a new state law, which restricts the types of restraints that can be used on students who are acting illegally.

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Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association endorses Jensen for Governor

 The MPPOA is the largest association representing public safety professionals in the state.

The announcement was made in front of the ruins of the Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct building which was set on fire in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in May 2020.

Brian Peters, MPPOA executive director, made the following statement:

“There is only one candidate for governor that police trust to have their backs, and that is Dr. Scott Jensen. Minnesota has experienced out of control lawlessness under Tim Walz, and quite frankly, we’ve had enough. Dr. Jensen has put forward sensible proposals to restore safety to our communities and that’s why we’re supporting him for Governor.”

Brian Peters, MPOA executive director

Dr. Jensen also released a statement on the endorsement:

“Tim Walz has failed every Minnesotan in fulfilling the most important job of an elected official: ensuring public safety. The men and women who protect our communities daily understand this, and that’s why they are supporting my candidacy. I’m honored to have the endorsement of police officers across our state and when we win on November 8th, we’ll immediately work together to bring safe streets back to our neighborhoods.‘

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Officer staffing shortage prompts service changes for Alexandria Police Officers

Alexandria Police Chief Don Hayes shared new numbers on Friday about the staffing shortage his department is currently dealing with.

"We had at least five leave within the past week. One went to another agency. One retired. Two are getting out of the profession all together," the chief said. "A lot of of officers are leaving because they want to try something different."

Right now, APD's authorized force is 311 sworn officers. As of May 1, Hayes says they're down 20 officers. Plus, he says another 48 officers are currently on FMLA or restricted duty.

"So actually out of 311, we only have 243 officers available to put on the street and go to calls for service," he said.

The chief held a news conference on Friday morning to explain the service changes his department is now making as it copes with a reduction in manpower on the force.

"We are not reducing our calls for service," he said. "We are going to respond to every call for service, sometimes just differently. We are modifying the way we do that."

APD said some of those modifications include:

• Not responding to certain calls that may fall under another agency’s role unless the agency requests support
• Not responding to scenes that occurred earlier in which there is no danger to the public, no identifying suspects, or valuable investigative leads

"So what we did, we looked to identify non-emergency calls for service that other entities of the city can respond to. We've also worked to identify non-emergency calls that really don't require an in-person response," Hayes said.

A case of suspected credit card fraud, for instance, could now involve an officer taking a report by phone.

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Baltimore County Council will vote on police accountability board

TOWSON, Md. — A change in state law during last year's legislative session now means that each county in Maryland has to set up a board focused on improving relationships between police and the community.

There's a vote scheduled for Monday on what that board will look like in Baltimore County.

The board will be made up of nine residents from across the county who will work with law enforcement and local officials to make recommendations to improve policing here in Baltimore County.

Aside from forbidding police officers from serving on the board, specifics of membership, board powers and funding are left to the counties themselves. Each faces a July 1 deadline.

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Virginia legislature looks at requiring police in every school

 

Legislation that would require every public school in Virginia to have a full-time police officer on duty is expected to come before House and Senate committees this week.

Sen. Bill DeSteph and Del. Karen Greenhalgh, both Republicans from Virginia Beach, filed matching bills in the Senate and House of Delegates that would require each school district to set up contracts with their local law enforcement agency to staff every school with at least one school resource officer.

Both Greenhalgh and DeSteph said they expect their bills to be taken up in committee this week.

An SRO is “a certified law-enforcement officer hired by the local law-enforcement agency to provide law enforcement and security services to Virginia public elementary and secondary schools,” according to state code.

The bills state that any division that does not fully comply with the staffing requirement is ineligible for any grant or waiver from the state.

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St. Louis files court challenge of Legislature’s expansion of police officer rights

ST. LOUIS — City officials on Friday launched a court challenge of a new state law that spells out and expands the rights of police officers across Missouri when they face internal investigations.

The city’s lawsuit complains that the measure, passed by the Legislature in May, requires St. Louis to treat its police officers differently than all other civil service employees “without rational basis.”

The suit, which Mayor Tishaura O. Jones’ office said was filed in Cole County Circuit Court in Jefferson City, also attacks a provision that the suit says requires the city to defend officers for actions taken when moonlighting as security personnel for private companies.

That, the city alleges, violates a state constitutional provision barring the use of public funds for private purposes.

The suit also asks that a judge throw out the law because it assigns the city more duties and costs investigating and defending officers without providing state money to pay for it.

The law “is an unfunded mandate that subverts equal protection guaranteed under the law,” mayoral spokesman Nick Dunne said in a statement.

Moreover, the suit complains that the bill is unconstitutional because it also contains law changes on various subjects not related to its stated purpose of public safety.

Jeff Roorda, business manager for the St. Louis Police Officers Association — which backed the bill — said attorneys who reviewed it for supporters are “fully confident that the statute is legal.”

He called it the most important legislation affecting officers across Missouri passed in the past 10 years.

He said while the law adds some new protections for St. Louis officers, other provisions mirror practices already in place in the city through the association’s contract and police regulations.

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James Craig on running for Governor: 'I know I've been called for this role'

James Craig, retired Detroit police chief and candidate for governor in Michigan, explained how he knows he has been "called" to unseat Gretchen Whitmer in the 2022 election as he leads her several points in a recent poll. Craig made the remarks during an interview on "Fox & Friends" on Sunday emphasizing the need for leaders full of integrity and courage to deal with current issues. 

JAMES CRAIG: It's a powerful statement. I know Denzel. I know where he stands. I know I've been called for this role. This is prophetic. I know that being the next governor, the next governor of the great state of Michigan, is something that was placed on my heart. A friend of mine who was a very spiritual man who said 13 years ago, you're going to be the governor. Now, that was WILD for me because I wanted to only be the chief of police. Here I sit today, but in today's world, in our state and our country, we need strong, courageous leaders to deal with the issues. Look at our country. We're divided. Look at our state. People are so just that dissatisfied and sick of politics. They want leaders that will get it done and get it done with integrity. 

Watch the full interview here: https://video.foxnews.com/v/6274294967001