South Dakota law enforcement
Migrant officers flock to South Dakota police departments
Hours before the sun rose over Champaign, Illinois, on the morning of May 19, 2021, Champaign Police Officer Chris Oberheim and his partner were called to the scene of a domestic disturbance. Darion Lafayette was there to meet them and exchanged fire with both officers, killing Oberheim. Lafayette was also killed. Within a day, the […]
Commission moves to close loophole in armed school sentinel program
Current eligibility rules for the state’s armed school sentinel program don’t disqualify people who are barred from possessing firearms, according to Hank Prim, executive secretary for the Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training Commission. But the commission endorsed a rule change Wednesday in Pierre that would close that “loophole,” as Prim called it. The Legislature […]
Spike in complaints against officers prompts potential change to discipline process
The state has seen a 132% increase in investigations against law enforcement officers and 911 operators since 2016, and is on pace to field 13% more of the formal complaints that can spark such investigations this year. Hank Prim, of the state Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), shared the numbers with the South Dakota Law […]