40 law enforcement agencies pull out of Minnesota schools after law change: 'Police were blindsided'

A new Minnesota law on how school resource officers can restrain students has led to an exodus of about 40 law enforcement agencies in schools, several outlets have reported.

The new law, which was included in the education bill Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed in May, was interpreted by some police chiefs to mean that school resource officers can only restrain students if they're about to inflict harm on themselves or others. The statute in question previously read that an "agent of the district" may use "reasonable force when it is necessary under the circumstances to restrain a student or prevent bodily harm or death to another." The new provisions caused some confusion by taking the "or" after student and turning it into a "to."

The Anoka, Clay and Hennepin sheriff's departments, and Anoka, Blaine, Champlin and Coon Rapids police departments, are among those who have suspended their school resource officer programs in the wake of the changes. Some police chiefs and sheriffs argue the law restricts officers from intervening in dangerous situations and makes them too vulnerable to criminal charges or lawsuits. 

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"Police were blindsided by this law," Jeff Potts, executive director of the Minnesota Police Chiefs Association, told NBC News. "The law enforcement community learned about it in August."  

blue school hallway lockers and checkered tile in high school students in the background (down-sampled to increase sharpness) (iStock)

"I discussed this with several attorneys who are familiar with this area of the law, and they were unanimous: The law is unclear, and it could result in litigation that threatens the livelihood of our school resource officers," Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt also said to NBC News. "It could even subject them to criminal prosecution for trying to de-escalate a situation by restraining an out-of-control student."

In an attempt at clarification, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the law does not limit the types of reasonable force that may be used by school employees and agents to prevent bodily harm or death. 

"I think now we’re all clear that a school resource officer or a contracted police officer may use reasonable force to prevent bodily injury or death or affect a lawful arrest or to stop property damage," Ellison told MPR News. "They can do their jobs as they’ve been used to doing them for so many years."  

Charles Adams, who previously served as a school resource officer at Minneapolis North, said he, too, was "confused" as to what is or is not being prohibited in terms of how SROs can mitigate violence, before explaining the importance of SROs in general.

"In some way, when you’re in law enforcement I think the disconnect is when you work in a school, your mentality in some way, you have to flip, in more of a service to the community… Whether that’s the school community, or the community that you work in, and less of law enforcement," Adams told FOX News Digital. "Because working in the school, you’re a deterrent for crimes in the school, but you’re also there for the kids. You’re there for the staff and then even the families of the kids."

Former Minneapolis police officer Charles Adams weighs in on the importance of school resource officers amid an exodus of SROs from Minnesota schools following new guidance on school restraints. (FOX News Digital)

Adams said to this day he still has former high school students still remember the positive influence he had on them.

"That’s the job of the SRO," he said. "To this day, you still have kids that have graduated, years ago, that still come up to me, based off the relationships that we connected with when they were in high school. It's really the trust. Kids are not stupid. They know that you’re a cop, but they have a relationship with you, and they feel comfortable with you when you see you every day in that setting. Like in life, it’s no different from any other situation where you have to connect with people and make positive relationships." 

Adams now serves as both a football coach and as director of team security for Major League Baseball's Minnesota Twins. He writes about his time as a police officer and an SRO in his new book, "Twin Cities: My Life as a Black Cop and Championship Football Coach." Minneapolis and St. Paul were among the school districts that decided to remove school resource officers in 2020 in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder - a move that Adams says he "100%" regrets.

"Because it wasn't in the best interest of the community," he said. "It was a reaction that, you know, harmed our city and especially the side of the city that I worked in and was an SRO at. So, yeah, I think it didn't make things better."

Minnesota Republicans have called for a special session and a repeal to the new law on student restraints, which was a conversation Walz said earlier this week that he'd be open to.

"I think what we’re trying to figure out is, is there a solution that works best to make sure that we have those trusted adults in the buildings, where the districts want them to be, and that it satisfies everyone’s need?" Walz said, according to NBC News. "I think at this point in time, we don’t know exactly what that’s going to look like, I’m certainly open to anything that provides a solution to that. And if that means the Legislature working it out to make sure we have it."

Gov. Walz's office did not respond to a request for comment. 

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Cortney O'Brien is an Editor at Fox News. Twitter: @obrienc2