Brooklyn Park PD suspends SRO

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Brooklyn Park Police Department Announces Suspension of School Resource Officer Program

Brooklyn Park, [September 14, 2023] - The Brooklyn Park Police Department is dedicated to ensuring the safety and security of our community, particularly within our schools. Today, we are announcing an important update regarding the presence of School Resource Officers (SROs) in our area schools for the 2023-2024 school year.

Shortly before the start of the 2023-2024 school year, we became aware of a significant change in the law affecting police use of force, specifically concerning school resource officers. Our department made a careful and considered decision to continue providing SRO services to our local schools with the aim of enhancing the safety and well-being of students, teachers, and school staff.

Since the beginning of the school year, our SROs have encountered a series of challenging incidents that have compelled us to reassess our ability to provide this service effectively. While our dedicated SROs have consistently displayed professionalism and dedication in responding to these incidents, 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.

In light of these circumstances, the Brooklyn Park Police Department has made the difficult decision to suspend the School Resource Officer program and reassign these officers as patrol officers. Although they will no longer be physically stationed within the schools, they will be assigned to patrol areas near the schools. These officers will be capable of responding to any 911 calls made from the schools and will be able to work through these difficult situations efficiently and effectively.

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.

We understand that this development may raise questions and concerns, and we want to assure our community that we remain fully committed to fostering a safe and secure environment for our schools and neighborhoods. We will continue to work diligently to maintain open lines of communication with our community and provide updates as the situation evolves.