ST. PAUL – Minnesota House Public Safety Committee Chairman Tony Cornish (R-Vernon Center) is calling on Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith to apologize after unnecessarily politicizing a call for emergency assistance from the State of North Dakota.
“North Dakota needed additional peace officers to help monitor the protests taking place over the Dakota Access Pipeline, and Minnesota has a mutual aid agreement with that state to assist during times of need,” Cornish said. “Hennepin, Anoka, and Washington Counties agreed to send members of their departments to North Dakota to help with this request, and despite the fact that the Governor’s Office knew about the request and approved it, Lieutenant Governor Smith blasted law enforcement for following state orders.”
According to a letter written by the Hennepin County Sheriff, the State of North Dakota on October 18 made an "urgent" request for sworn officers to assist in Morton County at the Dakota Access Pipeline protest.
On October 20, the Director of Homeland Security Emergency Management (HSEM) confirmed that the State of Minnesota and the Office of Governor Mark Dayton received the request. On that same date HSEM, a Division of the Department of Public Safety (DPS) sent out its Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) Mission Order Authorization Form. This document names the State of Minnesota as the "assisting state" and was prepared and distributed by the Governor's appointees, HSEM Director Joe Kelly and DPS Commissioner Mona Dohman.
On October 21, Kelly—on behalf of the governor and as the legally-designated state official responsible for emergency management—signed the EMAC Mission Order Authorization Form which confirmed the authorization. This means the Governor's legal designee and the State of Minnesota authorized the mission, signed the compact and approved the plan two days before deputies departed for North Dakota.
On October 27, Lt. Governor Smith posted the following on her Facebook page: “I do not support Sheriff Stanek's decision to send his deputies to North Dakota, nor did we approve his decision to begin with. I do not have any control over the Sheriff's actions, which I think were wrong, and I believe he should being his deputies home, if he hasn't already. I strongly support the rights of all people to peacefully protest, including, tonight, the Standing Rock protest.”
Chairman Cornish said he is deeply troubled that Minnesota’s lieutenant governor apparently does not understand the existence of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, did not bother to check with officials within the Governor’s Office before making her inflammatory Facebook post, or simply didn’t care.
“Politicizing a law enforcement emergency is always disturbing, but for the lieutenant governor to slam a sheriff and responding officers is a slap in the face to anyone who has ever sworn to protect and serve our communities,’ Cornish said. “Tina Smith not only prioritized the rights of protesters over the needs of law enforcement but also displayed a shocking lack of knowledge in regards to public safety and emergency management. Neither of these traits are suitable for the person holding the second most powerful office in the State of Minnesota, and she owes the law enforcement community an apology.”
The Emergency Management Assistance Compact was developed in 1996 to ensure essential personnel and resources are available to respond in any state of emergency, at any time, and at any location in the United States. It has been ratified by Congress and has been adopted in all 50 states.
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