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Wayzata police urge drivers to stop for stopped school buses
Drivers must stop for school buses when their stop signs are out but many motorists have ignored that law this school year.
WAYZATA, Minn. — Like many departments, Wayzata police put school resource officer programming on pause this school year, citing ongoing confusion around state use-of-force laws.
So now, former SRO Brandon Haapoja is back doing regular patrols.
“We’re just kind of waiting for some clarification,” he said.
But he’s not giving up on students. Haapoja says he frequently searches for drivers who blow past school buses when their stop signs are out and flashing red, indicating students are crossing.
It’s a misdemeanor violation to pass a bus with its stop arm out without kids present. In that case, Haapoja can give the driver a citation and release them from the stop. However, it’s a gross misdemeanor to pass when kids are outside and off the bus.
“We refer them in to our city attorney for charges,” Haapoja explained.
Haapoja says he’s caught both types of violations a total of 35 times so far this school year, so he’s urging drivers to wait behind buses until their stop arms are no longer extended and flashing.
“When you’re a school resource officer, you tend to get a different kind of relationship with the students and with the parents of the students, so I guess I take it a little bit more personally, that I want to be out there and protecting the kids in any way that I can,” he said. “We’ve seen some videos where kids have gotten hurt, and that’s what we’re trying to prevent.”
Since the start of the school year, we have had almost 30 school bus stop arm violations. Please help keep the children…
Posted by Wayzata Police Department on Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Helping his mission, he says, is the $14.7 million in public safety grants to equip more buses with cameras. Legislators passed the funding for years 2022 and 2023.
“Whereas before, we might see three or four violations and maybe only stop one car — that’s a tool we can use to investigate additional violations,” Haapoja said of the cameras.
According to a Minnesota Judicial Branch report, 2,004 drivers in our state were cited for stop-arm violations between 2018 and 2022.
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The council argues that the HERC must be closed to comply with the city’s zero waste policy, which was passed back in 2017.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a plan to shut down the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) on Thursday.
The resolution comes after decades of protests against the massive North Loop trash incinerator that burns roughly 365,000 tons of garbage a year.
“Today is a big step towards protecting the health of our communities and addressing longstanding environmental injustices that disproportionately impact communities of color,” said councilmember Robin Wonsley, in a statement.
The resolution calls for the incinerator to be permanently closed by Dec 31, 2027 and for the entire facility to be shut down by Dec 31, 2033.
The council argues that the HERC must be closed to comply with the city’s zero waste policy, which was passed back in 2017.
In October 2023, the Hennepin County Board signed off on a plan to close the HERC between 2028 and 2040, depending on how quickly the county can transition into a zero-waste system.
Of the garbage burned at the HERC, 75% comes from the city of Minneapolis. The other 25% comes from a dozen other cities in the area. The HERC produces enough energy to power more than 25,000 homes and half the buildings in downtown Minneapolis.
At a City Council Meeting on Oct. 10, Jenni Lansing with the City of Minneapolis Health Department provided analysis on the air pollution impacts of HERC. She said the health department supports working towards a zero-waste future and the ultimate closure of HERC, but said closing it now is not the solution.
“Overall emissions in Hennepin County are dominated by on-road and non-road, mobile and nonpoint sources, and these sources drive the cancer and non-cancer risks to health in Minneapolis,” Lansing said.
Hennepin County defines zero waste as preventing 90% or more of all discarded materials from being landfilled or incinerated.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
The snow is really coming down in some places with Maple Lake getting 3.5″ so far.
GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — The wettest Halloween storm ever — is making mischief before little trick-or-treaters hit their neighborhood’s slushy streets.
Officials are reporting several power outages and car spin-outs.
There have been over 14,000 power outages, according to Xcel Energy.
The Minnesota State Patrol has responded to 169 crashes and 94 vehicles off the road, as of 2. pm. Thursday.
Meteorologist Beny Dery said an additional 1 to 2″ of snow is possible before things taper off this evening.
So far some of the totals around town are: 3.5″ Maple Lake, 3.0″ Buffalo, 2.5″ Dassel, 2.4″ Windom, 2.0″ St. Bonifacious, 1.5″ Maple Plain and 1.5″ in Bethel.
The snow is expected to let up from west to east and should wrap up for the metro between 5 to 6 p.m.
Last week, prosecutors charged John Sawchak with attempted 2nd-degree murder and other felony charges after he allegedly shot his neighbor Davis Moturi.
MINNEAPOLIS — Following the shooting between two neighbors, the Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to request that the city’s auditor conduct an independent investigation into the incidents and cases between Davis Moturi and John Sawchak.
Moturi was allegedly shot by his neighbor, Sawchak, on Wednesday, Oct. 23 but Minneapolis police did not arrest Sawchak until days later.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara defended not arresting Sawchak sooner, calling it a “high-risk” situation. O’Hara later said the victim, who had complained about harassment from Sawchak for months, was failed by police. Sawchak was arrested this past weekend after an hours-long standoff.
Moturi suffered a fractured spine, two broken ribs, and a concussion in the shooting. “Mr. Moturi’s life matters and I’m sorry that for nearly a year, MPD did not treat it like it did,” said Council Member Robin Wonsley in a news release, “Today’s vote affirms that the City Council is committed to taking meaningful actions towards accountability and restoration, starting with this independent review.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey released this statement:
“Mayor Frey fully supports an independent review of this incident. The mayor and City are committed to always doing better, and this means closely examining past actions and finding where there may be ways to improve and grow. The mayor extends his condolences to Davis Moturi, his wife, Caroline, and their family and friends. The safety of our residents is a top priority and any form of violence or hate speech is completely unacceptable and does not align with who we are as a community. Brian O’Hara will continue to be the Minneapolis Police Chief.”
