BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota officials say Wisconsin is lending law enforcement resources to authorities responding to the Dakota Access pipeline protests.
Officials said Friday that Wisconsin will provide up to 40 sworn sheriffs’ deputies from Dane County and the surrounding area to support the Morton County Sheriff’s Office in North Dakota.
Officers will assist for up to 21-day rotations. The deputies come through an interstate mutual aid compact.
Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier says the deputies will provide the manpower necessary to respond to multiple protest locations.
Thousands of people have joined the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe encampment in what’s been called the largest gathering of Native American tribes in a century.
Some of the protests have expanded to other construction sites along the pipeline route, which crosses through the Dakotas, Iowa and Illinois.
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