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Minnesota State Fair says police staffing is good
The Fair feels confident in its public safety plan after receiving additional help from Ramsey County and the Minnesota State Patrol.
FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (FOX 9) - As of Thursday morning, State Fair General Manager Jerry Hammer says they’re up to just over 170 officers. That includes the at least 99 officers they’ve hired for their own department and the help they’re getting from outside agencies. He says that’s nothing new for the fair.
The goal is to have 200 officers available to the fair.
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office says they will provide around 40 deputies for the 12-day event. They say those deputies say they are prepared to respond to emergencies at large scale events like this.
"We're going to also implement some active shooter response teams. As you've seen twice at the mall of America this year, this month and then in December of last year, those incidents especially with Uvalde and some of the other incidents at festivals and stuff, we're going to bring those types of resources to the State Fair," Deputy Alex Graham said.
State Patrol confirms they will also provide around 30 officers.
In a letter to the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota State Fair Police Chief Ron Knafla also asked if Ramsey County could provide "community ambassadors" for the event saying they were "integral to our operation in 2021 for deescalating situations."