News Reporter Chris Larson’s interview with Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski
(FARGO, ND) – Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski says current North Dakota statutes present challenges for officers when dealing with situations.
Concerns around the ability to make arrests or address certain situations have arisen because of state laws.
“When you make it not criminal, you’ve kind of created an un-law,” he said. “When you take things like public urination, or something like that, and you make that a non-criminal offense, you’ve effectively tied the hands of the police, because we cannot make any type of physical arrest or address that behavior.”
Zibolski said the only option for authorities in this type of situation is to issue a ticket and walk away.
He says there are a lot of things in statute that, if not criminal, there is no realization of how law enforcement is hindered.
Changes would have to come from the legislative branch of government, Zibolski said.
Currently, officers can only arrest for misdemeanors that occur in the presence of an officer. There are a few exceptions, however, ZIbolski said.
“When we get into situations for misdemeanor crimes that we didn’t witness but there’s otherwise probable cause to make an arrest,” he said. “We can temporarily detain the person and acquire the information and forward it to a prosecutor for review.”
