ST. PAUL, Minn. - At approximately 3 p.m. Sep. 1, the St. Paul Police Department requested 150 Minnesota Army National Guard Soldiers to assist them with crowd control in downtown St. Paul after demonstrators became increasingly aggressive.
The Soldiers assisting the St. Paul Police came from the 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 194th Armor (1-194 CAB), a Minnesota Army National Guard Battalion headquartered in Brainerd.
"Our main mission is to support local law enforcement," said 1st Lt. T. Zdon, an armor officer with the 1-194th. The 1-194th Soldiers provide assistance in two key ways, said Zdon. "One: we provide a good number of forces used to support them. Two: we provide a good military presence."
The 1-194th also provided trained Soldiers who could assist with riot control procedures by using riot control tactics, as well as shields and batons, to keep crowds under control.
"We trained for a couple days, learning how each squad has an assigned task," said Spc. Ben Doran, an infantryman with the 1-194th. "We generally work together and support each other, using shields and batons to keep crowds back. We want to use the minimum amount of force necessary to complete the mission."
While the response time of the 150 Soldiers was remarkable, and the effect of their presence was evident in the quelling of the demonstrators, their function was still a support role to the highly-trained St. Paul Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service.
The Soldiers will remain in downtown St. Paul until the police department is satisfied that the additional forces are no longer necessary to maintain peace and order.