(Fargo, ND) — Local, state, and federal authorities have introduced a new task force aimed at preventing crime before it happens.
Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner introduced the Cass Clay Threat Assessment Threat management Team on Wednesday, saying the goal is to establish regular meetings with law enforcement partners to share information on potential concerning individuals in the community, and to develop action plans to pull people away from dangerous life paths.
“If we can try to do something to put some pieces in play, to prevent something like that from happening again, there isn’t one person up here who doesn’t want that,” said Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner, referencing the fatal July 14th shooting that killed Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin, seriously injured two other officers and a bystander, and led to the death of the shooter, Mohamad Barakat. “We’ve gotta try something, right?”
Other speakers discussed similar models across the country, and believe the threat assessment threat management team will be embraced in Cass and Clay counties.
“We can get different looks at each case, not just a law enforcement lens, but a mental health lens or a university administrator lens, different things that can influence that case, ” said Pat Riely, a FBI special agent and threat management coordinator. “Make the small little rudder changes that can cause them to get off the pathway to violence and on the pathway of hope.”
Meetings between local, state, and federal partners have already begun. As of this publication, Sheriff Jahner says the team has not yet established if they will meet on an as-needed basis or at a scheduled time.
