Cass County says internal review will follow after deputies' delayed notification in downtown assault response

A Cass County Sheriff's Office representative told reporters that two deputies responded to an early-morning call in downtown Fargo on Aug. 3 but did not later notify Fargo Police Department of the severity of the case; the sheriff was out of state when the office first learned of the life-threatening injuries. The representative said the first dispatch about the injured man came at 3:08 a.m.; their deputies were notified at 3:23 a.m. and arrived at about 3:26 a.m. "They arrived on scene right at 03:26. The patient slash victim was loaded up in the ambulance ... our deputies did assist in adequately restraining this individual. They exited the ambulance. The ambulance transported patients and our deputies were sent to a separate call for service in South Fargo, with regard to a suicidal juvenile. We did not provide any further follow-up, once we had exited the ambulance," the representative said. The office has provided body-worn camera footage and deputy reports to the Fargo Police Department and said it will "remain 100% available" to assist. The representative said the county learned of the assault around 8:15 a.m. the following day and that Sheriff (name not specified) canceled remaining vacation plans and returned to Fargo; an internal review is planned when the sheriff returns. Fargo Police Chief Cybulski and other authorities said Fargo police will continue the criminal investigation. Mayor Tim Mahoney said he and the police chief discussed press strategy the day of the incidents and that the chief had been concerned about compromising the ongoing investigations; Mahoney said he would review the city's communication policy. Reporters pressed officials about mutual aid logistics and whether officers were nearby at the time; the Cass County representative said deputies are staged by area when they provide mutual-aid priority coverage and that dispatch uses GPS to determine who is available. The representative said the department does not yet have answers for why certain notifications or follow-up did not occur and that the sheriff's internal review will address those questions.