Police groups begin petition drive asking Gov. Walz to call special session

ANOKA, Minn. – Leading law enforcement organizations have launched a petition drive as they continue pushing Gov. Tim Walz to call a special session to fix what they call an unclear new state law on when school-based officers can use certain restraint holds on students.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman, in a letter to city officials in the Anoka-Hennepin School District where school resource officers have been pulled from some schools, says the legislature did not change the law which says officers won’t face civil or criminal penalties if they comply with current law which allows reasonable use of force to prevent bodily harm or death, and also in certain other circumstances.

Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association Executive Director Jeff Potts responds there’s a lot of nuance to Minnesota law. “The law enforcement community, which really is the experts, I have confidence that our police chiefs and sheriffs are interpreting the law correctly, and that’s why they have such big concerns,” said Potts.

The Moorhead Police Dept. was among the first to remove resource officers from Moorhead Public Schools. Since then, about 40 police and sheriff’s depts. have taken similar action.