St. Cloud Police Chief Talks Public Safety

(KNSI) – St. Cloud police chief Blair Anderson spoke at a panel discussion on current public safety issues Monday.

The webinar was hosted by NOBLE – the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. Chief Anderson is a founding member. He was joined on the videoconference Monday by Roger New, the police chief of Eagen, MN, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington, and Dakota County Community Corrections Director Suwana Kirkland.

The panelists were asked what they have done to maintain public safety. Chief Anderson responded: “I am that corny guy who became a police officer to make the world safe for everybody, particularly for kids. Because somebody did it for me, I’ve tried to use my platform and my position to make sure of one thing, and I don’t have a lot of rules. We do not strip human beings of their dignity ever. I don’t care what their zip code is, I don’t care how much money they make, I don’t care what package they’re wrapped in, their religious preference, any of that stuff. They’re human beings first. And so everything we do is designed to make sure that we preserve their dignity.”

When it comes to the Minnesota legislature and what help is needed statewide, Chief Anderson mentioned he’s appeared at several meetings over the last year with one request: “A lot of the people we encountered in crisis, are dealing with several entities. Whether it’s social services or mental health care providers, what have you. And we’ve got these people on a merry-go-round because we can’t share information. And so one of the things that we did was put together, what we call our Community Action Team in St. Cloud, and we actually look at the people that we encounter most frequently because it’s the same list of folks. And we have been able to funnel them and get them to the right service provider to get them off that merry-go-round so that every three days, we’re not going back to the same place.”

The videoconference was moderated by Minnesota Department of Public Safety Assistant Commissioner Booker Hodges.

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