Falcon Heights, St. Anthony renew police contract after parting ways following Philando Castile’s death

Years after their contentious split, St. Anthony police officers will once again patrol the city of Falcon Heights.

The Falcon Heights City Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to contract with the St. Anthony Police Department for the first time since 2017 when their partnership ended following the highly publicized killing of Philando Castile by a St. Anthony police officer.

St. Anthony had policed the neighboring suburb for more than 20 years until the two cities severed their agreement after Castile was killed during a 2016 traffic stop in Falcon Heights.

Ever since, Falcon Heights has been paying the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office to police the small city that surrounds the State Fairgrounds. But Sheriff Bob Fletcher has urged the city for years to find a more permanent arraignment. Sheriff’s deputies do not patrol any of the neighboring towns and suburbs around Falcon Heights, which makes the city difficult to staff with deputies often having to travel long distances to respond to emergencies, the Sheriff’s Office has said.

The city and the Sheriff’s Office first mutually agreed to part ways in 2021, but Falcon Heights couldn’t find another agency take over until now. The city of about 5,000 has long said that it would be impractical to try to create its own police force.

Falcon Heights Mayor Randy Gustafson said he is excited the city will once again have “a community-oriented policing model.”

“That’s something I’ve wanted to see returned and our community wanted to see returned,” he said. “And this gives us that chance.”

The contract will cost Falcon Heights roughly $1.8 million a year. St. Anthony officials estimate the department will need to add nine more officers and will ask for Falcon Heights’ financial help in upgrading its police facilities.

Falcon Heights City Council Member Melanie Leehy has said she believes restarting the partnership with St. Anthony could bring healing to the two cities, which have been holding community meetings and town halls about potentially reconnecting for nearly a year.

“I’m really pleased with how things have moved along,” she said on Wednesday.

The St. Anthony City Council voted 4-1 on Tuesday to approve the contract.

St. Anthony officers will return to Falcon Heights on March 1.

It will take the Police Department time to build up the staff needed to patrol the city 24 hours a day. The department will gradually ramp up its services, starting with a plan to have police in the city for at least eight hours a day. While they may not initially patrol the city full time, St. Anthony officers would respond to every call and emergency.