Interim Police Chief Chad Pattison is a force of one overseeing law enforcement of the northeastern Minnesota city of Moose Lake.
Two officers resigned from the typically five-person force last month, and two others, including the chief, last summer. This week, its City Council could decide to stick with a Moose Lake force or sign a contract with Carlton County to have four of its deputies oversee it, a controversial choice in the city of 2,600, the Star Tribune reports.
Moose Lake, 40 minutes southwest of Duluth, is the latest in a string of small Minnesota towns struggling to keep up with public safety demands amid increasing costs and a shortage of officers throughout the state.
The entire police force resigned in Goodhue, Minn., in August. Thirty-five municipal police departments throughout the state have dissolved since 2016, according to records kept by the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training. About 400 remain.
