Two metro cities are moving toward renewing a police partnership that ended after a St. Anthony police officer fatally shot Black motorist Philando Castile during a 2016 traffic stop in Falcon Heights.
The councils of both cities voted last week to begin negotiating a contract that could see St. Anthony policing Falcon Heights for the first time since 2017, when the communities ended a more than 20-year partnership in the wake of Castile’s killing.
Falcon Heights City Council Member Melanie Leehy said she believes partnering could bring healing to the two cities, which shared a difficult experience when Castile was killed. The debate over whether to remain partners drew on for many months, dividing members of the communities.
Leehy had advocated that the cities stick together after Castile’s killing. “You can’t heal when you’re apart,” she said.
She thanked both cities’ leaders and residents for being willing to have difficult conversations now, acknowledging it was clear during engagement sessions that residents’ opinions even within Falcon Heights and St. Anthony varied on whether the cities should partner again.
Falcon Heights’ vote to begin negotiations was unanimous. The city has been patrolled by the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office since 2018. Since 2020, Sheriff Bob Fletcher has urged Falcon Heights to find another option because, he said, his office doesn’t patrol contiguous areas, so deputies must travel long distances at high speeds to respond to emergencies.
Falcon Heights City Administrator Jack Linehan has cited several potential benefits to renewing the partnership. Among them, a more community-oriented policing model, and work the St. Anthony department has done to rebuild itself in the wake of Castile’s killing.
St. Anthony City Council voted 4 to 1 last week to begin negotiations to police Falcon Heights.
