Falcon Heights, St. Anthony authorize 2025 police partnership

The Falcon Heights city council voted to authorize a police services partnership with St. Anthony which is set to begin March 1.

Falcon Heights currently receives its policing services through the Ramsey County sheriff’s office, but that partnership is set to end in February. The city council approved the partnership at a Wednesday meeting.

St. Anthony previously provided policing services to Falcon Heights for more than 20 years, but the cities cut ties after then-police officer Jeronimo Yanez shot 32-year-old Castile of St. Paul on July 6, 2016 in Falcon Heights. Yanez was later found not guilty in 2017 on one count of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm in connection with the shooting and no longer works as an officer with St. Anthony.

St. Anthony’s city council voted Tuesday to authorize its Falcon Heights partnership in a 4 to 1, with council member Thomas Randle opposed. A contract for the partnership is expected to be finalized by the end of the year, according to a Falcon Heights press release.

“It was a difficult conversation to have and there were a lot of things to kind of work through and I’m proud of the work that we did and very optimistic about this partnership moving forward and honored that I got to play some small role in it,” said Falcon Heights council member Eric Meyer at the meeting on Wednesday.

Service to start March 1

Under the agreement, the St. Anthony Police Department would provide 24/7 911 service starting on March 1 with an attempted average of eight hours of daily patrol coverage and an expected ramp-up of services over time.

A commitment to daily patrol and 24/7 emergency calls is expected to begin July 1, 2026 or an otherwise agreed upon date, according to the draft contract.

Full services and staff are expected to be available January 1, 2027 or an otherwise agreed upon date.

Falcon Heights will initially pay St. Anthony the equivalent of $878,000 annually for the services. This cost will increase to $1.6 million annually as staff and patrol hours ramp up.

St. Anthony is currently considering expanding its police facilities or creating a combined public safety facility with the city fire station. With the partnership, the costs for the renovation will be shared by the cities, with Falcon Heights contributing $263,700 annually for shared fixed costs and capital contributions.

Ramsey County contract to expire

Falcon Heights’ contract with Ramsey County was set to expire Dec. 31 this year. The sheriff’s office eventually agreed to extend its services until Feb. 28, 2025, while Falcon Heights transitioned to a new agency with a start date of March 1.

St. Anthony was initially interested in providing policing services starting in January of 2026, due to staffing and overtime concerns, but the city eventually adjusted its start date to March 1 with the expected ramp-up of services.

As part of the partnership, the St. Anthony Police Department will hire nine additional staff, which would include four patrol officers, two swing shift officers, an investigator, a community engagement officer and an administrative support role, according to St. Anthony officials. The cost for these positions will be covered through Falcon Heights contract fees and not involve a levy increase for St. Anthony property owners, according to the press release.

The city councils for Falcon Heights, St. Anthony and Lauderdale, which also receives policing services from St. Anthony, are expected to maintain communication with each other on the services as part of the partnership.

A new Joint Operations Committee that includes city leaders and St. Anthony Police Department command staff will meet quarterly to review expectations and service levels, according to the release.