Cass County Sheriff asking for amendment after new law put a pause on ND officers helping MN law enforcement

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - The Cass County Sheriff is asking Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for an amendment so that Cass County law enforcement can resume the partnership in Clay County to assist them during critical incidents.

Out of transparency, Sheriff Jesse Jahner shared his letter to Walz on his Facebook page Sunday.

The new deadly force statute for Minnesota law enforcement officers brought confusion and concern for officers on both sides of the river. It’s left Minnesota officers in the Valley with less backup to call upon.

Minnesota officers were only given an eleven-day heads up that the statute was going into effect, leaving agencies with little time to try to figure out how to interpret or train their officers on it.

Since the statute went into effect, both Fargo and West Fargo Police and the Cass County Sheriff’s Office suspended all operations in the state of Minnesota. The three agencies say that public safety and officer safety are at risk without proper education on the new law.

We first covered this story in a VNL Investigates piece back in March.