MN Police Training to Better Protect Firefighters During Protests
Minnesota police are training to better protect firefighters during mass demonstrations ahead of the trial for the former officer charged in the death of George Floyd.
“So, physically and mentally what we are doing for those firefighters is letting them know, ‘We are there for you. We will provide a protective shell so you can do your job,’” St. Paul Police Cmdr. Tim Flynn, who has led the training for his department and other law enforcement agencies in the Twin Cities area, told Minnesota Public Radio. “Because we can't have a situation where they are trying to fight the fire but they are looking over their shoulder (to see) who is going to come use one of their tools against them or come cut their hose or come damage their truck.”
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The six-week program has been conducted for 550 St. Paul police officers and 250 officers from departments in Dakota, Ramsey and Washington counties. The training was created after St. Paul firefighters had difficulty responding to fire calls during this summer's social unrest.
As part of the program, officers practice creating a perimeter to allow firefighters to work, getting to injured people in a crowd and moving back demonstrators. St. Paul firefighters also are practicing better ways to operate during protests and riots, such as operating in a smaller footprint at the scene.
“(Typically) they would have been closer to get more hose inside, the ladder truck would have been on the corner to be able to reach two sides of the building,” Deputy Fire Chief Jeremie Baker told MPR about a drill that involved closely lining up pieces of apparatus in the same direction within a police perimeter.
The trial for former Minneapolis Derek Chauvin is expected to begin next week. Chauvin, who was implicated in the May 25 death of Floyd, faces second-degree murder and manslaughter charges.