ST. PAUL — Public safety personnel in the Minnesota Multi-Agency Command Center (MACC) refocused their strategy to detect and combat violence and destruction on Minneapolis-Saint Paul streets Saturday night, May 30.
Thousands of officers from the Minnesota National Guard, Minnesota State Patrol, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and local law enforcement changed tactics and strategies to take a different approach on how to keep the peace following the death of George Floyd. Using intelligence gathered by law enforcement and with the cooperation of community members, the MACC deployed fast-moving teams to targets that were of high value and high probability of attack.
“We prepositioned staff so they would be immediately adjacent and told them ‘get there fast,’” said Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington. “Speed was of the essence to stop the violence and criminal activity.”
The MACC reported the following actions:
The arrests of more than 155 people (numbers may increase as jails continue the booking process). Examples of the charges those individuals face include curfew violations, weapons possession, narcotics possession and rioting.
The State Patrol confiscated seven firearms. The Minneapolis Police Department confiscated five firearms.
The St. Paul Police Department stopped several vehicles without license plates. Within those vehicles were tools that could be used for destructive purposes.
The Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) Security Operations Center is defending against distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) cyber-attacks aimed at overloading state information systems and networks to take them offline.
MNIT issued the following statement regarding these cyber-attacks:
“Keeping our communications systems secure during times of crisis is critical to protecting the Minnesotans that we serve, and we work to meet the challenging and evolving threat to those systems every day. At this time, these attacks have not successfully disrupted the state services that Minnesotans depend upon, and MNIT is working in close coordination with partners at the Department of Public Safety and with the federal government to share intelligence and stay proactive on cyber threats.”
Support teams from the State Fire Marshal and the DNR conducted an aerial fire suppression mission.
The State Patrol arrested one person who showed signs of overdose and was revived when troopers administered Narcan.
“Make no mistake about it, the State Patrol didn’t do this alone. We relied heavily on the relationships we have developed over the history of our organization,” said Minnesota State Patrol Colonel Matt Langer. “We are never perfect and there are always lessons learned. But our goal was accomplished.”
Moving forward, the MACC will continue to monitor the situation over the coming days. Actions will include enforcing the extended temporary curfew, as well as assessing threats and changing response efforts, if needed.
About the Multi-Agency Command Center
The state has activated a Multi-Agency Command Center (MACC). The MACC serves as a unified command of federal, state and local law enforcement and public safety agencies supporting the state’s response to any unrest that develops following the death of George Floyd. Agencies represented in the MACC include the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (State Patrol, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, State Fire Marshal division, Minnesota State Patrol); National Guard; Minneapolis Police Department; Saint Paul Police Department; Metro Transit Police; Bloomington Police; University of Minnesota Police; Sheriff departments from Ramsey County, Hennepin County, Anoka County, Dakota County, Washington County; and the FBI.
Visit the MACC website for information and updates.
