Sheriff addresses Moose Lake staffing

A notice on social media last week from the Moose Lake Police Department indicated that the office would no longer be “open on a daily basis.”

It was the sort of thing that can cause consternation in a community. In February, the city contracted with Carlton County for its law enforcement — a decision which meant disbanding its long-standing police department.

The contract between the city and Carlton County is still being negotiated, as the county works toward bringing aboard the four deputies agreed upon to cover the city.

But Carlton County Sheriff Kelly Lake told the Pine Knot on Tuesday that deputies are taking calls and patrolling the city, as well as working with police chief Chad Pattison, the lone remaining presence in the city’s department.

“I know there’s a lot of anxiety,” Lake said. “They want to see the four down there. But as we talked about throughout this whole process, I can’t take four deputies I have right now and dedicate them down there, because the rest of the county would be left with open shifts.”

Both Lake and the city of Moose Lake confirmed negotiations were held earlier this week. The city’s attorneys have finished a draft contract that was presented to the Sheriff’s Office, said city administrator Ellissa Owens.

“The city has requested an implementation timeline from the Sheriff’s Office,” Owens told the newspaper. “However, all parties are aware of the timelines associated with hiring and training. The importance of the training process is undeniable.”

Lake said three new deputies will begin training next week, and, once a contract is in place, she’ll open up the Moose Lake station to current deputies with seniority who may want to work there.

There’s no guarantee the three new deputies will all be ticketed for Moose Lake, Lake added, because the county has additional openings to cover. Training new deputies can take two-and-a-half to six months depending on their experience levels and skills proficiencies.

“We fully anticipate having four by the end of the year,” Lake said.

In the meantime, Moose Lake police chief Chad Pattison remains in the fold. With the loss of an administrative assistant, he’s just not able to man the office at all times. The notice last week asked residents to leave a message for non-emergencies and calls would be returned.

“We will no longer be taking fingerprints due to low staff,” the notice said. “We will still have the green box medication drop, but if you have medications to drop off, please call and schedule a time for dropoff with our officer.”

People in emergency situations or in need of immediate assistance were asked to call 911.

“He’s been keeping us updated on schedule changes and events down there,” Lake said of Pattison. “I still want people to know: we are still there; we are responding to calls; we have a presence there; deputies are patrolling; they’re just not dedicated to the city for a full shift (yet).”

Lake said she expects a phased approach to staffing up the office, located at the firehall and in the existing police office along Minnesota Highway 73.

“We’re going to put one down there, two down there … ” she said. “We don’t have a definitive date yet; we’re still working towards that. I don’t want anybody that isn’t trained down there.”

Owens said she expects the Sheriff’s Office to attend the city’s next regular city council meeting at 4 p.m. June 12 to provide an update.

“While the MLPD office is no longer staffed with an administrative person,” Owens said, “the city still has Chief Pattison engaged and actively working.”