3 October 2023
MOORHEAD The Moorhead Police Department is sending its officers back to the city’s public schools after confusion over a new state law restricting the use of force led the agency to suspend its school resource officer program.
Officers will start working in schools again starting Friday, Oct. 6, the police department announced on Tuesday. The Moorhead Police Department was the first of more than 40 in the state to withdraw officers from schools amid worry about a change to the definition of “reasonable force” in schools, which went into effect in August.
Law enforcement groups said they were concerned officers wouldn’t be able to restrain students who are damaging property or causing disturbances but didn’t necessarily pose a serious danger to others. Many suspended school resource officer programs over concerns that the law would prevent officers from legally using physical force on students outside of situations where there is a risk of death or serious injury.
But after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued an updated opinion on the law last month, Moorhead’s school district and police department have agreed to resume the program.
“This is good news for our schools and City,” the city said in a news release. “SROs are excited to return to schools where they partner with staff, build relationships, and help protect and serve our learning environments.”
Moorhead’s move comes after more than a month of pressure from police groups and Republicans on Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz to call a special session to change the new law on force in schools.
But Ellison’s opinion, which was an update to previous guidance he issued in August, appeared to clear the air for at least some agencies in the state. The Minnesota Peace and Police Officers Association said the state still needs to address the law when lawmakers return to the capitol in February.
While Moorhead has decided it will return officers to schools this week, the picture is still unclear for many other districts in the state. Last week, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty issued guidance on the law contradicting Ellison’s guidance, throwing the situation into confusion once again for police agencies across the state.
In response to the contradicting guidance, the Minnesota Peace and Police Officers Association walked back its previous greenlight for officers to resume school resource duties, and told police departments to assess their situation on a local basis, as different county attorneys could have different takes on the new law.
While officers in Moorhead did not have full school resource officer duty over the past month, the department said they occasionally made “routine” school walk-throughs.
Check back for updates to this developing story.
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