How Many Law Enforcement Agencies Does It Take to Subdue a Peaceful Protest?
Earlier this month, the Morton County Sheriff’s Department briefed the public via Facebook on the scope of law enforcement presence that was helping confront protesters of the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock.
Tell the DOJ to Demilitarize Standing Rock
The help was made possible by a bill signed into law by President Bill Clinton about 20 years ago, which created an interstate agreement for emergency management. The agreement helped bring law enforcement agents to North Dakota to the site of protests by the Standing Rock Sioux against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The protests at Standing Rock, and the Black Lives Matter protests in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray, represent some of the only times the compact has been invoked outside of a natural disaster.
The ACLU assembled the names of law enforcement agencies below from the Morton County Sheriff’s Department and from media accounts. The Morton County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the cities and counties in North Dakota that sent officers as well as the 10 states that contributed, and where there was a news story about a particular force, we included a hyperlink. Where there was mention of the number of officers deployed, we noted that as a minimum — though more may have been deployed later.
North Dakota:
1. North Dakota Highway Patrol
2. North Dakota National Guard
3. North Dakota Parks & Recreation
4. North Dakota Department of Emergency Services
5. North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Parole and Probation
Cities
7. City of Bismarck Police Department
8. Dickinson City
9. City of Fargo Police Department (50 officers)
10. Hazen City
11. Jamestown City
12. City of Mandan Police Department
13. Minot City
14. Steele PD
15. Grand Forks City
16. Williston City
17. Rolla City
18. West Fargo City
19. Wishek City
20. Watford City
21. Grafton City
Counties
22. Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department
23. Cass County Sheriff’s Department
24. Dunn County
25. Emmons County
26. McKenzie County
27. McLean County
28. Mercer County Sheriff’s Department
29. Morton County
30. Stark County
31. Stutsman County
32. Ward County
33. Williams County Sheriff’s Department
34. Grand Forks County
35. Divide County
36. Kidder County
37. Grant County
38. Bowman County
39. Benson County
40. Burke County
41. McIntosh County
42. Barnes County
43. Bottineau County
44. Logan County
45. Trail County
Louisiana:
46. St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Department
Montana:
47. Montana Highway Patrol (at least 10 officers)
Wisconsin:
48. Wisconsin State Patrol (at least 17 officers)
49. Dane County Sheriff’s Department (at least 10 officers)
50. Dane County Special Events Team (at least 3 supervisors)
51. St. Croix County Sheriff’s Department (at least 4 officers)
52. Rock County Sheriff’s Department (at least 5 officers)
53. Marathon County Sheriff’s Department (at least 4 officers)
Minnesota:
54. Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department (at least 29 personnel)
55. Anoka County Sheriff’s Department (at least 6 personnel)
56. Washington County Sheriff’s Department (at least 5 personnel)
South Dakota:
57. South Dakota Highway Patrol
58. Pennington County Sheriff’s Department (12 officers)
59. South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation (3 agents)
Wyoming:
60. Wyoming Highway Patrol (at least 6 officers)
61. Laramie County Sheriff’s Department
Nebraska:
62. Nebraska State Patrol (at least 11 officers)
Indiana:
63. Lake County Sheriff’s Department
64. Schererville Police Department
66. Griffith Police Department
67. Michigan City Police Department
69. Indiana Department of Natural Resources
70. Marion County Sheriff’s Department
71. Brookville Police Department
72. Porter County
73. LaPorte County
74. Jasper County
75. Newton County
Ohio:
76. Ohio State Highway Patrol (at least 37 officers)
