Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen (R-Alexandria) has been appointed to serve on a working group to focus on police-involved deadly force encounters in Minnesota. The group will host a series of meetings with stakeholders to review and discuss deadly force encounters and provide recommendations on steps the state can take to prevent or better handle these incidents.

“Deadly encounters involving police have resulted in much public scrutiny in our state and across the nation over the past few years. These situations have brought the microscope on our law enforcement community and in some places created distrust between the public and our police officers.”

“With 34 years of experience in law enforcement, I understand how intense and dangerous these situations are and how our officers must rely on split-second decision making.  It is my hope that through this working group we can find solutions that allow us to address these situations better while continuing to support our law enforcement officers who preserve the public’s safety throughout our communities.”

The working group will provide an opportunity for members law enforcement, the community, and other stakeholders to share their perspectives and develop recommendations which may include state or local policy changes, updates to procedures, legislative initiatives, training, officer wellness, community healing, or recognition of best practices utilized by law enforcement agencies.

The working group will convene a series of three hearings and will issue a final report with recommendations for preventing, investigating, and prosecuting police-involved deadly force encounters.

Hearings will be open to the public and locations and additional details for each hearing will be announced in the near future and posted on the Department of Public Safety website at dps.mn.gov.