Convention cops: Head of gang strike force denies RNC participation

On Friday afternoon the St. Paul Police Department released a list of 28 law-enforcement agencies that have formally agreed to loan out a total of 1,819 police offers to assist with security during the Republican National Convention. The "Minnesota Gang Strike Force" is listed as slated to contribute 40 officers to the effort.

But according to Ron Ryan, commander of the gang strike force, no such agreement has been reached. In fact, he says the organization currently only has 33 officers assigned to it. "We do not have a compliment of folks that would come anywhere near that," he says. "I can’t explain where that came from."

The document released by the SPPD indicates that the gang strike force has signed off on a "joint-powers agreement" authorizing its officers to assist on RNC security details. But Ryan says that’s not true, and that his organization wouldn’t be able to sign off on such an agreement because it’s not an independent law-enforcement agency. "I can’t sign a joint-powers agreement because I’m not anybody," he says.

As MnIndy first reported on Thursday, the SPPD has been struggling to line up the 3,000 to 4,000 officers deemed necessary to police the convention. Some law-enforcement agencies have bulked at signing off on joint-powers agreement owing to financial concerns.

(SPPD spokesman Tom Walsh did not immediately return a call seeking comment.)

ALSO: See our previous coverage of St. Paul’s struggles to sign up convention cops.