CANNON BALL, N.D. - Hennepin County Sheriff's Office deputies and equipment are leaving the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline protest in North Dakota, according to a state representative.
Rep. Peggy Flanagan, DFL- St. Louis Park, said she was notified by a text message from an employee in the governor’s office about the deputies’ return Monday. Flanagan said she got the text before she and a group of legislators met with Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek about the use of county deputies in North Dakota.
Morton County Sheriff's Office spokesman Rob Keller tells Minnesota Public Radio that all Minnesota law enforcement officers have been released and that the state fulfilled its part of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, or EMAC.
On Oct. 23, Sheriff Stanek sent deputies and equipment to North Dakota, at the request of North Dakota officials, who are dealing with months of protests and dozens of arrests.
Last week, nearly 400 people protested that decision. Deputies from Anoka and Washington counties and at least five other states are also assisting law enforcement in North Dakota.
Some Minnesota lawmakers believe the move to send personnel and equipment there was inappropriate.and that protocols like EMAC only apply to natural disasters or terrorist attacks.
Even Lieutenant Governor Tina Smith weighed in on the decision, "I do not have any control over the Sheriff's actions, which I think were wrong, and I believe he should bring his deputies home, if he hasn't already," she said in a Facebook post last week. "I strongly support the rights of all people to peacefully protest, including, tonight, the Standing Rock protest."
On Monday, Minnesota House Public Safety Committee Chairman Tony Cornish. R-Vernon Center, called for Lt. Gov. Smith to apologize after "unnecessarily politicizing a call for emergency assistance."
In a letter, Stanek said North Dakota made an "urgent" request for assistance on Oct. 18. On Oct. 20, HSEM confirmed the State and Office of Gov. Dayton received the request. Stanek states HSEM, a division of the Department of Public Safety, then sent out its EMAC Mission Order Authorization Form, which HSEM Director Joe Kelly signed on Oct. 21.
Henn Co Sheriff Stanek tells lawmakers Dayton Administration okayed pipeline deployment - https://t.co/olTLbZajfN pic.twitter.com/ULAIdNwvls
— John Croman (@JohnCroman) October 30, 2016
“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," Cornish said. "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 and has been adopted in all 50 states.