We are on a record pace this year for officer involved shootings in Minnesota.
So far in 2019 the state has seen 23 fatal officer-involved shootings.
The BCA has investigated 21 of those cases this year as the lead agency in Minnesota.
But behind those 21 cases, are 21 grieving families.
"When a fatality happens, we're victims as well," mother Valerie Castile says.
Castile lost her son Philando three years ago in an officer involved shooting.
She says the sadness that followed consumed her life.
Desperate for answers, she leaned on BCA investigators who were already busy with the case.
"I wanted there to be a bridge where there could be a conversation. Anybody, somebody, who can sit down and talk with families and let them know that they care and can explain the process," Castile says.
She mentioned her idea of a family liaison to Dept. of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington.
"This was a good idea and something that we needed to do," Harrington says.
He agreed that personal touch was missing and with the BCA handling the majority of the officer-involved shooting cases in Minnesota, he felt the Department of Public Safety should be the one to change it.
"That comment came up over and over again. Almost every family that we've talked to has mentioned the need to have that liaison position," Harrington says.
He brought it up during the officer-involved shooting work group he formed with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Members loved the idea. So, he had his staff at the BCA write up a job description for a Victim, Family Community Relations Coordinator.
Harrington says the person they hire for this position will work with families full time to help them grieve, find resources in the community, and to give them updates on their case.
"We had almost 150 people apply for the coordinator position," Harrington says.
Right now, they're working on interviews, but the goal is to have the job filled by the end of the year.
Castile is thrilled that her voice and the voices of other families are being heard, but she says it's concerning that a position like this is even needed.
She says it’s a clear warning sign to law enforcement that the shootings have become so common that it takes a full-time position just to deal with them.
"You need what you need, but then in the same breath it is so sad. It is absolutely ridiculous that it has come to this point."