Memo from St. Paul Police Chief to Mayor Melvin Carter lays out toll on department
By Crime Watch MN, February 11, 2022
We’ve obtained a copy of an interdepartmental memo sent from St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell to St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter. The memo states that the city’s police department is down about 100 officers and the loss is impacting their ability to connect with the community and engage in innovative crime prevention efforts.
Axtell states officers are leaving St. Paul for police departments that are offering better pay and benefits and he’s concerned about the “unraveling” of the department and their ability to recruit new officers.
Axtell also states in the memo that officers have been working without a contract for well over a year through tough conditions including the pandemic and “unprecedented civil unrest.”
The chief ends the memo suggesting that Carter fund a better compensation package in order to retain existing officers and recruit new officers into the department.
Below is the memo in its entirety.
We will continue to follow developments on this issue. Make sure you’re engaging with us on Twitter and our St. Paul Crime Watch page.
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