Fargo, N.D. – The Cass County Sheriff says he was “disappointed” with a “lack of respect” he observed for law enforcement during a recent trip to observe policing in Downtown Fargo.
During an interview on WDAY’s The Coffee Club, Sheriff Jesse Jahner says he and his fellow law enforcement members weathered a tirade of heckling while observing city policing on Saturday August 9th.
Jahner says he grabbed some of his office’s quick response team members and tagged along with Fargo cops from 11:30pm that night until 2:30am the following morning when the bars closed.
“Just myself alone, I think I was called an ‘f-in pig’ three different times,” said Jahner.
“That was very light compared to what some of the other officers were experiencing with the constant statements like that towards them and flipping them off and things like that.”
Listen: Sheriff Jesse Jahner’s full interview on ‘The Coffee Club’
While explaining he’s been in the neighborhood in years past, Jahner says he was “really surprised by the behaviors” of people toward law enforcement.
“I’ve never really seen that before,” Jahner said. “That was really eye-opening for me.”
Jahner says he had a conversation this past Tuesday with Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski about providing sheriff’s office resources again in the future.
The entire Fargo-Moorhead area has seen a rash of violent crimes in recent days, originating from the deadly August 3rd shootings in Fargo.
Jahner also gave praise to the rank-and-file Fargo cops who he also saw endure harassment while patrolling the streets.
“We pride ourselves on professionalism but sometimes it can be hard to remain professional in those situations,” said Jahner. “All of those Fargo officers that were down there were professional in their response to those types of gestures toward them and ridicule.”
And despite the maltreatment by average citizens, Jahner says he plans to return himself this week.
“That helps me understand what our staff is dealing with on a daily basis,” said Jahner. “Being more proactive than reactive is maybe the level we need to get to.”
