As the Republican convention draws nearer, the St. Paul Police Department is continuing to fall short in its effort to recruit 3,500 licensed police officers to handle RNC-related security duties. Last Wednesday the SPPD sent a solicitation to area firefighters, via the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, asking them to assist with security efforts during convention week. Firefighters, it should be noted, are not licensed as police officers and would not be able to perform police duties as part of any security force.

According to the email, a copy of which was obtained by MnIndy, the department is looking for "200 uniformed firefighters for duty as a public safety presence during the Republican National Convention…. Firefighters will be stationed in various staging areas and transportation details for visibility, along with at least one uniformed law enforcement officer per area."

The latest development does not sit well with the St. Paul Police Federation. "I think it’s a complete joke," says federation president Dave Titus. "God bless our firefighters, but they wouldn’t want us fighting our fires because we don’t have the training or the knowledge."

Titus also questions whether such arrangements will hinder local fire departments from performing their normal duties. "If we tie these guys and gals up doing security, that leaves us with our pants down as far as firefighting duties go," he says. Titus believes the solicitation is definitely a sign that the SPPD is coming up short on the recruiting of officers for RNC duties. "Absolutely," he says. "Why else would you do that?"

As previously reported here, some cities and counties have been hesitant to sign on owing to financial concerns or fears that their agencies will be left short-handed back home. In addition, the initial list of cop commitments released by the SPPD was subsequently found to contain serious discrepancies. The state has roughly 10,300 licensed police officers, meaning that more than one third will be needed for the four-day gathering. (There’s a list of links to all our previous stories on the convention cops shortfall beneath the email text below.)

SPPD spokesman Tom Walsh did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

St. Paul Fire Fighters Local 21 is also concerned about the recruitment effort. Secretary Chris Parsons says the department is counting on other local agencies for back-up in case of emergencies during the convention. "If their staff is being paid to play traffic cop by the St. Paul Police Department, then they’re not available for the St. Paul Fire Department‘s needs or the needs in their own communities," Parsons says.

At least one local fire department that received the solicitation has not yet responded. "We haven’t evaluated it yet," says Roseville Fire Chief Richard Gasaway, noting that his two top deputies have been on vacation in recent weeks. "I don’t have a deadline. I need to get together with them to figure out what role we might play."

Here’s the entire email:

7/30/2008

To: Metro Fire Chiefs

From: St. Paul Police Department — via MN Department of Public Safety, State Fire Marshal Division

The St. Paul Police Department is requesting the services of approximately 200 uniformed firefighters for duty as a public safety presence during the Republican National Convention (RNC) that will be held in Saint Paul, September 1 - 4, 2008. Firefighters will be stationed in various staging areas and transportation details for visibility, along with at least one uniformed law enforcement officer per area.

This arrangement will be accomplished through a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) between the City of St. Paul and your fire department (City). Many of your cities already have a JPA in place for law enforcement officers. An amendment to this JPA can be done to include firefighters, as there is a clause in these agreements dealing with non law enforcement personnel. The shift each day is expected to be from roughly 2pm to Midnight. Firefighters assigned to the event will be paid 1 1/2 times their normal hourly wage. The JPA with your city will also spell out the rate for the fire apparatus, if it is desired or required as part of the assignment.

If interested please contact Mr. Tom Walsh, St. Paul PD - tom.walsh@ci.stpaul.mn.us before Friday August 1. All questions and commitment for these resources should be made directly with him.

See MnIndy’s previous coverage of this story:

Convention cops: Five weeks out, St. Paul still coming up short on police for RNC duty (July 28)

Convention cops: How many licensed police officers are employed by the state of Minnesota? (July 25)

Numbers game: St. Paul police sign up more convention cops–but may still have fewer than they claimed last week (July 24)

Convention cops: More discrepancies emerge in St. Paul’s RNC security force tally (July 22)

Convention cops: Head of gang strike force denies RNC participation (July 21)

 

Convention cops: SPPD official asks for more police volunteers, offers to forgo JPAs (July 18)

Convention cops: SPPD releases list of departments sending officers to RNC (July 18)

Convention cops: St. Paul struggling to recruit enough officers for RNC security (July 17)