MINNESOTA, USA — It's felt more and more common, a reoccurring issue that law enforcement in Minnesota can't seem to get away from – violence against their officers.
"It's very difficult," Minnetonka Police Chief Scott Boerboom said.
In Minnetonka, yet another reminder. Two Hennepin County Sheriff's deputies were injured after a man opened fire while they were serving a warrant. The incident prompted a massive law enforcement response, with officers and deputies arriving from across the Twin Cities.
"Ask our officers, it’s very difficult," said Boerboom when asked about escalating violence against law enforcement. "You’ve seen what’s happened in the past few weeks. It’s difficult, but we also know we have a job to do, and when we take care of this scene here, we’ll go back and we will have those conversations with our officers and make sure they’re in a good place.”
The incident was extremely personal for Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt, who could have lost two of her own in Wednesday's shootout.
"I cannot begin to tell you the emotions that are going on right now," Witt said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. "I promise my family I will come home to them every day," she continued. "It's not a promise that should be broken by any of our first responders."
Jeff Potts is the executive director of the Minnesota Police Chief's Association, and has an extensive law enforcement career himself. Fear of not coming home has always been in the back of their minds.
Events over the past few months – including what happened in Burnsville – have brought those concerns to the front.
RELATED: Police: Gunman dead, 2 Hennepin County deputies injured in exchange of gunfire in Minnetonka
"I'm sure they're thinking about this, their families are thinking about this a whole lot more than they used to," Potts said. "The frequency that we are seeing where police officers are shot at and hit or killed is happening at a rate that we haven't seen before."
Data from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shows while most categories of violent crime are down from pre-pandemic highs, assaults on officers are up. In 2019, there were about 400 violent assaults on Minnesota police officers.
In 2023, there were more than 900.
"From a mental health standpoint, it's critically important that agencies have programs in place to help their officers mentally process the trauma that comes along with these situations," Potts said.
Despite the emotions that come from this, Potts says the next step is clear – something has to change.
"What we're looking at very closely now and trying to figure out, how can we start to get better?" Potts said "How can we get our hands around that? And how can we control it?"
RELATED: Minnesota BCA says assaults against police officers is on the rise, more than three per day in 2023
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