(The Center Square) – In a 48-19 vote, the Minnesota Senate Monday passed roughly $9 million in emergency funding to bring peace officers from other states into Minnesota after a week of protests and public safety officers were fired at and injured Sunday morning.
In a morning press conference, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, said Gov. Tim Walz spoke with Minnesota’s legislative leaders about the emergency funding, $9 million of which would handle civil unrest to pay for troopers.
“We all agreed. If it’s an emergency and we need to bring people in from other states to help, all four leaders said ‘yes,’” Gazelka said, adding that at least three states might send troopers.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is preparing to send state troopers to Minnesota, an officer confirmed to The Center Square.
The Minnesota National Guard and Minneapolis Police Department neighborhood security team said it was fired upon Sunday near 4:19 am.
One guardsman sustained an injury from shattered glass requiring additional care and was taken to a local hospital, while the other guardsman received only superficial injuries.
“I am relieved to know none of our Guardsmen were seriously injured,” Maj. Gen. Shawn Manke, Minnesota National Guard adjutant general, said in a statement.
“This event highlights the volatility and tension in our communities right now. I ask for peace as we work through this difficult time,” he added.
The Minnesota National Guard is activated as part of Operation Safety Net, a colation including the Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and local jurisdictions. The Minnesota National Guard was activated to prevent widespread rioting during the Derek Chauvin trial and the aftermath of the police-involved fatal shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center on April 11 during a traffic stop. The local police chief, who later resigned, said he believes the officer meant to draw a Taser but mistakenly pulled and fired her gun instead.
The request for assistance is being made through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a mutual aid partnership between states requiring the requesting state to reimburse assisting states for all eligible costs at the end of the support mission.
It’s unclear if there’s an agreement in the DFL-dominated House. Nineteen Senate Democrats voted against the measure.
Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, pushed an unsuccessful amendment that police would have added all incoming troopers “utilize best practices of de-escalation” and uphold procedures of justice while here.
Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent, DFL, said the amendment was needed to restore the “erosion of trust” in the police.
Sen. Torres Ray, DFL-Woodbury, said the bill didn’t give line items expenses as one reason for voting against the bill, adding she didn’t know whether the state or federal government was paying the National Guard.
“We have a lot of military presence in the streets, and people are traumatized,” Ray said
“I can’t approve this without having a clear understanding of what it is we’re doing here,” Ray said.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol group is expected to head out to Minnesota sometime this week.
