When South Central North Dakota was beset by protesters angry over the Dakota Access Pipeline, North Dakota law enforcement officials turned to other states for help.
Requests for police resources were made through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, an agreement among states to offer mutual aid in emergent situations.
The state in need posts a request. States capable of helping respond.
But Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton squashed those requests, refusing to forward them to his law enforcement agencies.
Called out for this malfeasance by the Minnesota Sheriff's Association, Dayton claimed his decision wasn't political, a statement thoroughly undermined by his subsequent comments on the matter.
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Dayton said that North Dakota made a "political decision" in responding to the pipeline protests. He claimed the requests were an attempt "to pull other states" in and "make it a broader political dispute," also suggesting there was an expectation that Minnesota help pay for the protest response.
Anyone familiar with the realities of the protests knows this for the bunk it is.
All states that provided assistance for the protests have been or will be reimbursed by North Dakota. Furthermore, the state had no choice but to respond to the lawlessness of some pipeline protesters.
Like it or not, the Dakota Access pipeline is a legal project authorized by regulators and upheld repeatedly by the courts despite a blizzard of challenges. Cops protecting lawful industry, not to mention the lives and livelihoods of ordinary citizens, from unlawful protesters was not a political act.
It was their duty, one they fulfilled with professionalism and honor.
Dayton not only besmirched the proud service of law enforcement during the protests, he called into question the integrity of North Dakota's law enforcement. Dayton seems to be informing himself with a steady diet of anti-pipeline propaganda. Worse, Dayton has made political what is intended to be an a-political mechanism for states to help one another during emergencies.
The Minnesota Sheriff's Association suggested in their letter that the EMAC process may need to be reformed to avoid a repeat of this situation. What a shame.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has wisely stayed silent on this dust up. If Dayton's factually challenged pontifications on this matter continue, it will be Burgum's responsibility to respond.
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Editorials represent the views of Forum management and the Editorial Board.
