Bloomington Police Department launching a new team of officers whose mission is to protect elected officials

Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges says it is a lot more than just being a bodyguard.

He says this new unit is trained to look for possible threats at big events and investigating threats made against elected officials.

Those threats, Hodges says, have been increasing.

"These threats have to be taken seriously now," Hodges says. "It isn't the past the person didn't want to take a math test in school and they called in a bomb threat to the school or pulled the fire alarm. These threats have to be taken seriously."

Hodges says he got this idea after the assassination of former Speaker Melissa Hortman. She was shot at her home last summer along with her husband, plus state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife were shot in what was described as a political attack.

The alleged shooter, Vance Boelter, came to their homes disguised as a law enforcement officer.

The unit was established following advanced Executive Protection training conducted in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Secret Service.

Officers received specialized instruction in threat assessment, protective intelligence, advance planning, and close protection operations.

“It’s really unfortunate we need to create a unit like this,” said Hodges. “But recent acts of political violence nationwide — including targeted attacks against elected officials, the assassination of a political commentator, and repeated assassination attempts against the President of the United States — underscore the growing need for specialized protection and threat preparedness.”