Police Contract Update
St. Anthony Village and Falcon Heights City Councils to proceed with police partnership negotiations
St. Anthony Village has been in conversations with Falcon Heights around renewing a police services partnership since earlier this year. In February, the two City Councils held a joint workshop and directed staff to get feedback from both communities, as well as the St. Anthony Police Department (SAPD), before deciding to proceed. That engagement, which occurred over the last six weeks, included a survey, one-on-one conversations with residents, conversations with SAPD officers through an outside consultant, and two town halls where community members provided thoughts and feedback.
Next steps
City staff will begin negotiations and develop contract language over the next several months, which will include looking into key questions from City Councilmembers and gathering more data regarding the economic impact of a partnership. City staff anticipate having contract details ready for City Council review by late summer, in alignment with the annual budgeting process. A final vote on whether to proceed with a contract is expected sometime this fall.
We are incredibly grateful to those who shared their thoughts and feedback with us as we initially evaluated this opportunity to bring our talented and highly valued police department back to Falcon Heights. As we move into the next phase of this process, we will continue to provide updates and welcome your feedback.
Additional resources and information:
Initial St. Anthony Village Police Department staffing
Q&A
Town hall presentation
Survey recap
DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF ANNOUNCED
St. Anthony Fire Department has tapped Captain Mattie Jaros as our new Deputy Fire Chief.
In this critical leadership role, she will play an integral part in ensuring the safety and well-being of St. Anthony Village. Deputy Chief Jaros brings a wealth of experience and dedication to this position. She has demonstrated leadership, commitment, and expertise throughout her time here at Saint Anthony Fire. As the second-in-command of our fire department, our new Deputy Chief will work closely with Fire Chief Izzy Diaz and other department members to uphold the department’s mission of safeguarding lives and property.
Deputy Chief Jaros has been with St. Anthony Fire for 16 years, starting in 2008. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Administration with a concentration in Fire Investigation, along with an Associates in Fire Science. She is a member of several local teams including the North Suburban Hazmat Team and the Hennepin County Fire Investigation Team. Her hobbies include playing hockey, and spending time with her wife and son, Henryk.
NEW FIRE EQUIPMENT KEEPS SAV SAFE.
In the past year, the Fire Department has acquired much needed new equipment including a new fire engine, and new Extrication and Stabilization equipment
NEW EXTRICATION EQUIPMENT: Commonly referred to as Jaws of Life, our new extrication tools are now battery operated. Older systems were hydraulically powered, requiring a large power plant motor, hoses, and spreading and cutting tools. Now it is all integrated into one tool using powerful batteries that provide more reliability. They are much quicker to deploy with more mobility and usability outside of just extrication from car accidents.
STABILIZATION EQUIPMENT: The department also added a new product to assist in stabilizing vehicles that are flipped on their sides due to an accident. This rigging system enables us to safely help people who are trapped by using a more reliable method than the wood step chocks previously used.
AROUND THE COMMUNITY:
- COFFEE WITH THE COPS
SAPD shared coffee and conversation with residents at Chandler Place Assisted Living. Our Officers enjoyed meeting community members and there may have been donuts involved.
- CPR EDUCATION AT THE HIGH SCHOOL AND THE FIRE STATION
SAFD recently held hands-only CPR classes at the high school and as a follow-up, they invited students to visit the Fire Station and receive a full CPR Certification Class for Free! The class included CPR/AED training for Adult, Children and Infants. 17 students participated.
- SAPD ENGAGING WITH STUDENTS
In March, Detective Sunde (St Anthony Police) and Officer Jones (Roseville Police) talked with students at SAVHS on the subject of Sextortion. The age-appropriate presentation focused on the illegal dissemination of private sexual images, touched on internet safety, empowered students to take control, and also be a good friend to anyone they know going through this. The officers provided information to share with parents and friends, including how to report it to the police. The conversation included resources for online reporting, counseling, and how to help get the images removed from social media sites and the internet.
The BIGGEST message to students was that distributing, showing or sharing someone else's photos is illegal, and more importantly, if this has happened to them, they are the victim.
In conjunction with the student presentation, the officers hosted a virtual presentation for parents. This presentation was recorded and can be viewed HERE. The parent presentation discussed the prevalence of Sextortion and used the same video for both students and parents to allow parents to see exactly what their children had been shown, for transparency purposes. The officers touched on how to respond if their child is a victim of Sextortion and provided the same resources for online reporting, counseling and removing the images. They were also given website information with videos they can watch to engage their child in conversation about this subject.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sextortion, students should talk to a trusted adult or use the following forms:
-- SAMS Students:
SAMS Student Crisis/Concern Report (on SAMS website)
Community Referral Form (on St. Anthony School website)
-- SAVHS Students:
Community Referral Form (on St. Anthony School website)
Calling the police department or 911 is ALWAYS an acceptable way to report this, as well.
NEW SAPD OFFICER
Officer Tony Mickelson started with our Police Department as an Officer in March. He will be in field training for the next 12 weeks or so. Tony currently serves as an on-call firefighter with Inver Grove Heights and has been a Reserve Officer for St. Paul Park and the city of Wyoming. Tony has been a Shop Manager for a commercial general contractor and has also worked as a Federal Security Officer for U.S. Federal Protective Service/Department of Homeland Security. Tony and his wife keep busy in their free time by fostering German Shepherds. Over the past eleven years they have fostered over 170 dogs!