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Senate bill would fund scenario-based use-of-force training for officers, reimburse schools $450 per trainee
Summary
Senate File 692 would direct $2.5 million in grants for scenario-based use-of-force training to postsecondary Professional Peace Officer Education (PPOE) providers; grants require Post Board approval of programs and would reimburse schools $450 per officer trained. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion.
Senate File 692, heard March 10 by the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, would appropriate $2.5 million in grants for scenario-based use-of-force training for active law enforcement officers. The grants would be available to postsecondary schools certified to offer Professional Peace Officer Education (PPOE) and would reimburse training providers at $450 per officer who completes the program.
Senator Rasmussen, the bill author, described program requirements: Post Board-approved curriculum, scenario-based training that can include the use of firearms with nonlethal training ammunition, instruction on physical and psychological stressors, de-escalation techniques, bias-motivated incident training, defensive tactics and “force-on-force” exercises. The trainings would be offered to officers and their agencies at no charge; participating schools would seek reimbursement from the Office of Higher Education.
Andrew Rooney, director of police training and education at Alexandria Technical and Community College, and Tom Draper of Hennepin Technical College testified the institutions have facilities and experience delivering scenario-based training that produces stress realism not achievable through online training. They argued such training helps officers make split-second decisions and can improve compliance with the Minnesota duty-to-intercede statute (Minn. Stat. 626.8475).
Committee discussion focused on administrative and program overlap concerns. Senator Anderson suggested broadening eligible providers to include non-postsecondary training centers; Senator Lats and others urged the author to consult the Post Board to avoid duplicate reimbursement processes. Rasmussen said the $450 figure came from feedback from institutions and that some funds from a 2023 appropriation expiring this fiscal year could be tapped.
Senator Lats and others urged analysis of existing training capacity and unmet need before committing funds; they also raised a question about the Office of Higher Education keeping a 5% administrative fee for grant administration, a statutorily standard amount used for some noncompetitive grants. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion; no roll-call vote occurred.
