Police Chiefs Weigh In on New Laws for School Resource Officers
Just a week away from the start of the school year, officers across Minnesota are calling for clarity on new school resource officer guidelines.
In schools, a resource officer can be a bridge. In those spaces, an SRO can also be a mediator.
“Schools, in general, are microcosms of our community,” said Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley. “There is mental health situations, there are fights, there’s crime. All of those things need a first responder and/or a police officer.”
Bruley said his department has officers in the area’s middle and high schools. Typically, he said, officers are there to offer support and address youth on a case-by-case basis, whether it’s by mediating conflict or helping students get on their feet. Officers are trained to use force if necessary.
“In some schools, we did not have any incidents last year. In other schools, we had two or three use of force instances a year,” Bruley said.
Maple Grove Police Chief Eric Werner said he sees low numbers as well. He credits those to the SRO presence.
“[That is] what we are trying to do through these relationships and collaboration. Hopefully we don’t have to use force,” Werner said.
New Restrictions on School Resource Officers
Minnesota’s sweeping education bill included a provision for SROs. It said officers, in addition to other school staff cannot use prone restraint or other physical holds on students. The statute allows the use of reasonable force to protect those in danger.
At a news conference in mid-August, Gov. Walz spoke in favor of the legislation.
“I certainly think we should all agree that we should not kneel on the necks of students unless someone’s life is at risk, and it’s not written in the law to be able to do that,” Walz said.
Officer Response
Officers across the state, including Werner’s office in Maple Grove, were confused at the bill’s language.
“I’m trying to understand what we were trying to solve with this change,” Werner said.
Werner said the previous SRO model, before the bill came into play, worked for their department and schools. Now, he said, this creates a double standard that makes policing in schools less efficient.
Both Werner and Bruley said they heard of this recently and do not understand why law enforcement wasn’t involved in the creation of the bill.
Werner said the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, a group he was once president of, is typically very active at the legislative level.
“We have a piece of legislation that was made without involvement of public safety, particularly our associations,” Werner said.
Officers also say the guideline is not clear.
“They were so confusing, so poorly written, that they were impossible to interpret what the impact was,” Bruley said.
Bruley said he, and other officers, were concerned about the broad language used in the bill. He said it wasn’t clear what “reasonable” force meant.
MCPA: Guidelines Not Clear Enough
The MCPA asked the state to share more guidance to give the bill clarity.
On Aug. 22, Attorney General Keith Ellison shared a legal opinion clarifying the bill.
In it, he wrote that officers may “use reasonable force ‘to restrain a student to prevent bodily harm or death to the student or another.'”
Bruley said the opinion provided some much-needed detail. He made the decision not to pull his officers from the upcoming school year.
“Without the attorney general’s opinion, I wouldn’t have sent SROs back into the school,” Bruley said.
Still, he said some key details are missing. The MCPA issued a news release the day after Ellison’s opinion was published.
Now, the chiefs are asking for more clarity in cases of state law violations that do not risk bodily harm or death.
Some examples the MCPA listed include cases of trespassing, disorderly conduct or destruction of property. Those cases, Ellison noted in his opinion, were more appropriate for the legislature to determine.
Bruley said action should be taken now.
“The law has to be rewritten, to be honest with you,” Bruley said. “The truth is, they should be doing it right now in special session. That is what should happen.”
On Wednesday morning, Legislative Republicans issued a news release calling for a bipartisan bill and special session to address the law.
The DFL-led House and Senate Education Committee also shared a statement, saying they value the role SROs play in keeping schools safe, and said Walz’ administration is working to ensure law enforcement and districts have the correct guidance.
