Police departments across Minnesota have pulled their school resource officers from campuses for this academic year because they say a new law about physical restraints is unclear and could put their departments in legal jeopardy.
MPR News reported the law change resulted in a ban on some physical holds, including prone restraints of students.
The Brooklyn Park Police Department was the latest law enforcement agency to announce they have suspended their School Resource Officer Program because "our SROs have encountered a series of challenging incidents that have compelled us to reassess our ability to provide this service effectively" due to the new law and "it has become evident that the lack of clarity surrounding the recent changes in the law has created an untenable and unsustainable working environment for them."
The former SROs will be assigned to patrol the areas around the schools they were working in to be on hand should a need arise for them to respond.
"This decision has been made with the utmost consideration for the safety and well-being of our community. We believe that this reassignment will better equip and position our former SROs to address the wide spectrum of incidents that occur in and around our schools," the department added.
Having SROs out of Minnesota schools has already had negative consequences. A brutal fight broke out in Mankato East High School and no SROs were able to respond because they had been removed by their department. Officers were eventually able to gain access to the school to stop it.
Alleged videos from Friday's fight at Mankato East High School. The school was placed on lockdown. There were no school resource officers on campus in response to a new state law. pic.twitter.com/gzGDSFZLOe
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) September 10, 2023