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Saint Paul Police Department
Abbreviation	SPPD
Motto	Trusted Service with Respect
Agency overview
Formed	1854
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
Map of Saint Paul Police Department's jurisdiction
Size	56.2 square miles (146 km)
Population	285,068 (2010)
General nature	Local civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	367 Grove St. Saint Paul, Minnesota
Police Officers	575
Civilians	~300
Agency executive	Axel Henry, Chief of Police
Districts	List Central Eastern Western
Website
Saint Paul Police Department

The Saint Paul Police Department (SPPD) is the main law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It was established in 1854, making it the oldest police organization in the state. In the beginning the men did not have a stationhouse. Prisoners were taken to the Fort Snelling brig until the city built a jail. The SPPD is the second largest law enforcement agency in Minnesota, after the Minneapolis Police Department. The department consists of 575 sworn officers and 200 non-sworn officials. The current Chief of Police is Axel Henry. He is the 42nd chief in the history of the St. Paul Police Department and was sworn in November 2022.

History

In 1920 St. Paul Councilman and Public Safety Commissioner Aloysius Smith, requested that the St. Paul Police start a Police program for the youth. Sergeant Frank Hetznecke was selected to create the program. In its first year, 750 students signed up for the training program and in February 1921 the first student monitored crossing took place with students from Cathedral school on Kellogg Blvd. Sergeant Hetznecke is credited with introducing the Sam Browne belt and badge that became synonymous with school patrol across the country and administering St. Paul's program for 30 years.

During the Prohibition era, the department was remarkably corrupt. In 1936, the chief, Thomas Brown was fired after an investigation showed he had protected criminals including the Dillinger and the Barker-Karpis gangs.

An arrest outside of a bar on 26 September 2010 is the subject of a lawsuit that claims excessive force. In March 2011, the elite Gang Strike Force was disestablished when a state audit could not account for 13 vehicles and over $18,000 in cash the unit had seized. The auditor's report indicated that Officer Ron Ryan had sold property his detail had retained. Press reports indicated the unit used money taken from gang members to attend a 2009 professional conference held in Hawaii. The SPPD had two prominent incidents of misconduct in relation to their dogs in 2016 and 2017.

Command structure

Title	Insignia
Chief of Police
Assistant Chief of Police
Deputy Chief of Police
Senior Commander
Commander
Sergeant (see note)
Police Officer

NOTE: By contract, all investigators (detectives) hold the rank of sergeant.

• The time that a uniformed sergeant holds this rank is shown by arcs below the chevrons, one for each 5 years after promotion. After three are obtained the next 5 year periods give progressively a diamond and then a star in the field between the arcs and chevrons. Although this is analogous to the uniforms of the United States Army, no additional command authority is granted.

List of Chief of Police

Department awards

The department has only issued medals / awards since 1971. The current medals are:

• Medal of Valor Class A
• Medal of Merit Class B
• Medal of Commendation
• Life Saving Award
• Chief's Award For Valor
• Chief's Award For Merit
• Chief's Award
• Officer of the Year
• Detective of the Year
• Civilian Employee of the year

Department size

Like most major cities, the city of St. Paul saw a population decline beginning in the late 1960s. However, the department continued to grow.

See also

• List of law enforcement agencies in Minnesota
• Homer Van Meter

References

1. ^ "Police | Saint Paul Minnesota".
2. ^ City of St. Paul, MN - Official Website - Police Archived 2009-02-11 at the Wayback Machine
3. ^ Saint Paul Police Historical Society — Home
4. ^ Origins of the School Safety Patrol, 1921, MNOPEDIA, Minnesota Historical Society website, Eric W. Weber, St. Paul, Minnesota, published: October 29, 2012,
5. Walsh, James (25 June 2021). "Did St. Paul really protect gangsters during the Prohibition era?". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
6. Man's suit says St. Paul police brutalized him, by: Chris Havens, Star Tribune, 4 October 2010
7. Gang Strike Force shut down after audit finds $18,000, 13 cars missing, by Randy Furst, Star Tribune, 23 March 2011
8. Several officials criticize Gang Strike Force's publicly funded Hawaii trip, by Randy Furst, Star Tribune, 5 April 2009. In January 2011, SPPD officers roughed up and used a taser on a black man while that man was peacefully waiting for his kids in a public area
9. St. Paul man from cellphone arrest video identified; police dropped charges in July | Twin Cities Daily Planet
10. Reeves, Mel (2021-03-27). "Recent police misconduct in St. Paul and Minneapolis have raised alarm". spokesman-recorder.com. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
11. "Minnesota police dog attacks innocent woman taking out her garbage, video shows". thestar.com. 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
12. "Saint Paul Police Historical Society — Chiefs of Police".
13. Saint Paul Police Federation

44°57′23″N 93°5′9″W / 44.95639°N 93.08583°W / 44.95639; -93.08583

External links

• Saint Paul Police Department
• Saint Paul Police Historical Society
• Saint Paul Police Foundation
• Saint Paul Police Federation
• Saint Paul Police Reserves
• Rare 1941 stop-motion animation color film entitled, "St. Paul Police Detectives and Their Work: A Color Chartoon"

• Government of Saint Paul, Minnesota
• Municipal police departments of Minnesota
• 1854 establishments in Minnesota Territory
• Government agencies established in 1854
• Emergency services in Minnesota