Attorney General Merrick Garland visit Fargo; meets with leaders, victims

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – Attorney General Merrick Garland made a stop in Fargo, about a month after police officer Jake Wallin was shot and killed by a heavily armed man who may have been planning a much larger scale shooting.  Garland spoke during a meeting with local and state law enforcement, prosecutors and others in a jury room at the U.S. district courthouse in Fargo. 

“We also recognize just how much is being asked every single day of the officers,” said Garland. “Their jobs are difficult. We now see how dangerous they are. They demand enormous sacrifices from both the officers and their families. The Justice Department is committed to doing everything in our power to provide law enforcement with the support they need and deserve.”

Garland also met with the fiancé of Officer Wallin. He says there are no words to describe the sorrow and pain she’s endured. 

He then met with Fargo Police Officer Zach Robinson who shot and killed the man who ambushed Wallin when he and other officers responded to a traffic crash last month. 

 “I told him that the courage he exhibited under fire was nothing short of amazing,” he said. “And as everyone knows here, he saved the community from what everyone knows could have been a catastrophic result. I told him how proud I was of him, how proud the entire country is of him. There are not many body cams that everybody in the country sees, and this one, I think everybody did see.”

Garland pledged to local and state leaders the continued and unwavering support from the U.S. Justice Department.