(STATEWIDE) – “(If) you talk to anybody in uniform, they’ll tell you way too many resist.”
That’s the sentiment from North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley. Wrigley made the comments Monday while appearing on The Flag’s What’s On Your Mind program. He says that he’ll be returning to the North Dakota Legislature in their next legislative session to as lawmakers to make tougher punishments for those who resist arrest, assault an officer or flee a traffic stop.
“There is a cultural shift,” Wrigley said. “And it’s not for the better. We have to protect the men and women in uniform, from the standpoint of if they get sentenced on an underlying offense, they should get additional (time).”
Wrigley said those who say mandatory additional time, for those who resist arrest, assault an officer, or flee, won’t make a difference are wrong.
“It will make a difference,” he said. “This is relatively new, especially in the last 10 years, and it’s becoming more and more pronounced all the time.”
Wrigley said law enforcement officers are facing harder times than in the past.
“Men and women don’t sign up to go into law enforcement and ‘it’s just built into the cake that they’re going to get punched, that they’re going to get assaulted, that they’re going to get shot at,” he said.
Wrigley said violent crime has been on the increase in recent years.
“We can’t pretend it’s not the case,” he said. “We’ll do it every year to highlight the crime stats in North Dakota. They’re going the wrong way when it comes to violence, aggravated assaults and attempted murders.”
