8.2 SRO Update- Legal Advisement

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Legal Update regarding SRO Key Takeaways: This Attorney General's most recent opinion should be trusted and relied upon for the implementation of these laws. We advise Cities and Officers to follow the AG opinion and updated LMC PATROL guidance. The AG's opinion should be considered the decisive interpretation of these laws, until Courts instruct otherwise, or the laws are changed. • Officers should know that Attorney General opinions like this carry an important legal significance, elevated above the interpretations of other attorneys, even above County Prosecutors. However, we cannot guarantee this Attorney General opinion will shield an SRO from all liability in every circumstance, as a Court could reach a different conclusion on the interpretations of these laws. • In a nutshell, Courts are not bound to the AG's interpretation of these laws, but they would consider it and give it great weight should an issue arise. Violations of these use of force laws could still have significant implications to an officers POST license, but this is always the case for officers and any use of force. Further clarity regarding these laws is needed, but would have to come from legislative action or an appellate level court. • We do not anticipate either of these things happening any time soon, but political leaders will continue to grab headlines about it. Our legal interpretation of the AG opinion: • The AG Opinion makes clear that Incidents involving SROs are to be judged under the same reasonable use of force standards as all other officers, which requires the officer to be performing their lawful police duties at the time the force is used. • However, SROs, and other agents of the District are still not to use the prone restraints and certain other restraints (listed in Minn. Stat. 121A.58), with two critically important exceptions: • unless the use of force is reasonable, and used in response to the threat of bodily harm or death, (under Minn. Stat. 121A.582, subdiv. 1), or • unless the use of force is reasonable, and used the performance of the officer's lawful police duties (under Minn. Stat. 609.06 subdiv. 1(1)). What force is reasonable remains a highly fact - intensive determination for the courts. The law leaves a small window that is important to understand, when an officer is performing an SRO function where physical intervention may be requested or helpful, but the conduct itself would not be unlawful or otherwise require police involvement. • In such a scenario, the specific limitations on restraints and heightened use of force restrictions would apply. • Think of a school discipline issue that does not constitute illegal activity, nor does it pose a threat of bodily harm or death, but the Officer is asked to intervene by a school official. This situation would likely not directly fall under the realm of a lawful police duty as listed in Minn. Stat. 609.06., and in such a limited instance, it would be unlawful for the SRO to use one of the prohibited restraints or use force unless bodily harm or death are present. Our interpretation of the AG's opinion is in line with the PATROL training guidance published by the LMC IT attorneys.