By Anne Holzman
Falcon Heights continues shopping for a short-term policing partner during the summer, while also negotiating to restore a permanent relationship with St. Anthony Village.
St. Anthony Village covered Falcon Heights for police services from 1994 to 2017 and continues to serve Lauderdale.
St. Anthony Police and Falcon Heights ended their policing contract in the wake of the 2016 killing of Philando Castile by a St. Anthony officer inside Falcon Heights.
Concerns about broken trust on both sides from that event, plus concerns about cost and staffing, appear to be the main topics of negotiations as the two cities consider reviving the relationship.
Since 2018, Falcon Heights has been contracting police services from the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, which has repeatedly pressured the city to find another service. Their current contract ends Dec. 31.
Services under the St. Anthony-Falcon Heights contract include patrols, animal control, enforcement of the city code and crime investigations. Many Falcon Heights citizens have said they would like more comprehensive police services that would enable officers to better get to know residents and businesses.
Public comments during March and April showed widespread support among many Falcon Heights residents for returning to the St. Anthony police contract.
In St. Anthony, pursuing a revived police partnership between the two cities seems more controversial. Randy Stille, who was on the St. Anthony City Council when the Castile killing happened, stated his opposition to the proposal during the spring outreach sessions.
In early August, Stille ran in a special election for an open seat on the St. Anthony council. He used his comment time during a League of Women Voters candidate forum to mainly oppose the proposed police contract, which he viewed as too risky in terms of cost, trust and reputation. He lost the council election by a scant 26 votes to Nadia Elnagdy, who had expressed openness to the contract.
St. Anthony city staff told the two councils in April that their starting proposal would be to expand the St. Anthony Police Department by nine staff positions, eight of which would be sworn officers.
Based on population and call volume histories, St. Anthony city staff proposed a starting price of $1.6 million to $1.8 million, which is comparable to the $1.75 million the Sheriff’s Office is charging Falcon Heights in 2024.
The earliest that St. Anthony could start serving Falcon Heights would be January 2026, which means the city still has to find coverage for 2025. Continuing with the sheriff’s office is not out of the question, but Falcon Heights City Administrator Jack Linehan has been looking for other options.
Linehan told the Bugle in early August the cost of indemnity for contracting with St. Paul Police would be too high due to their history of settlements.
In July, Linehan told his City Council he was in preliminary conversations with the City of New Brighton, where the police department has expressed an interest in trying to offer services in other suburbs. He said he had discussed the idea of a one-year pilot, after which Falcon Heights would anticipate switching to St. Anthony. But it was too soon to say whether that proposal might come together in time for 2025. 
Anne Holzman is a freelance writer who covers Falcon Heights government news for the Bugle.
