Grand Forks

Police Department

2020 Annual Report

Prepared by the Office of Professional Standards
 Grand Forks Police Department

Mission Statement
The Grand Forks Police Department, in partnership with a diverse
community, is dedicated to upholding the highest professional
standards in order to equitably serve and protect all individuals with
respect and dignity.

Values That Guide Our Actions

SERVICE
The protection and preservation of life is our fundamental objective.
PARTNERSHIP
We are committed to developing a partnership with the community by employing
creativity, patience, persistence and an appreciation for the diversity within the
police department and the community.
INTEGRITY
We shall perform all duties with an unwavering commitment to integrity and
professionalism.
ACCOUNTABILITY
We are accountable to the community for our decisions and actions.
RESPECT
We will accomplish our duties with empathy, compassion, sensitivity and the highest
respect for individual and constitutional rights.
OBLIGATION
We recognize that all members of the police department are valuable and we accept
an obligation to each other to provide the maximum opportunity for the attainment
of individual professional potential.

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 Grand Forks Police Department

Officer Cody Holte

End of Watch: May 27th, 2020

Cody’s Story
March 17, 1991: Cody was born in Fargo, ND, to Bret and Tracy Holte.
May, 2010: Cody graduated from Norman County West High School.
May, 2015: Cody received a degree in Criminal Justice with minors in Sociology and Military Science.
August 27, 2016: Cody married the love of his life, Amanda Christian.
February 27, 2017: Cody began his career in Law Enforcement at the Grand Forks Police Department.
July 28, 2019: Cody and Amanda were blessed with the birth of their son Gunnar.

Cody loved the military and was a dedicated soldier. Cody attended basic training in Fort Jackson, South
Carolina and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where he became a Military Engineer in the ND National Guard.
Cody was an active member of the Army ROTC for three years during college, and was then commissioned
as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army. At the time of his death, Cody was serving as a First Lieutenant in
the ND Army National Guard.
On May 27th, 2020, Cody responded to a request for emergency assistance from Grand Forks Sheriff
Deputies, who were fired upon by an active shooter inside an apartment located in the City of Grand Forks.
Deputies and responding officers were engaged by a heavily armed subject barricaded within his residence.
During this incident, seventy-eight rounds were exchanged before the suspect was stopped. Tragically,
Cody was shot multiple times and succumbed to his injuries.
Cody was always the first to offer a helping hand. His kind heart and outgoing personality left an imprint
on all he touched. Known for his quick wit and humor, Cody’s smile will never be forgotten by all who
were a part of his life.
The Grand Forks Police Department family will never forget Cody Holte and his two favorite sayings,
“Don’t let yesterday use up today” and Philippians 4:13; “I can do all things through Christ
who gives me strength”.
Forever Remembered and Missed.

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 Grand Forks Police Department

Table of Contents

Mission Statement and Core Values ……………………………………………. 2

Officer Cody Holte Dedication Page …………………………………………….. 3
Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………… 4
Message from the Chief of Police ………………………………………………… 5
2020 Items of Note ……………………………………………………………………… 6
2020 Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Offenses …………………...…………… 7
2020 GFPD Non-UCR Crimes ………………………………………………………... 8
2020 GFPD Calls For Service ………………………………………………………… 9
2020 GFPD Citations ……………………………………………………………………. 10
2020 Grand Forks Parking Ticket Summary ………………………………….. 11
2020 GFPD Crash Summary …………………………………………………………. 12

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 Grand Forks Police Department

Message from Chief Mark Nelson

In 2020, officers of the Grand Forks Police Department responded to 50,957 calls for service which is a 7.5%
increase from the 47,401 calls for service in 2019.

In contrast with the increase in overall calls for service, the Grand Forks Police Department saw a decrease in
criminal offenses reported to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system in 2020. In the eight main criminal
offenses listed on page 7 of this report, you will find a decrease in Index offenses from the 1623 such crimes
reported in 2019 to 1504 in 2020; a 7.3% decrease. Items of note regarding 2020 UCR crimes:
 The number of reported UCR crimes in 2020 was 13% below the 10-year average of 1730.
 Violent crime, which includes Murder, Rape, Robbery and Aggravated Assault, has remained
relatively steady over the past ten years, with the exception of the 2015-2017 time span. While
the average of those three years was 21.5% above the average of the remaining seven years, with
respect to the prevalence of violent index crime, 2020 represented a decrease and a return to the
overall ten year average of these types of crimes.
 Property crime, which includes Burglary, Larceny, Auto Theft and Arson, has also remained
relatively steady over the past ten years, with the exception of the 2015-2017 time span. While
the average of those three years was 19.8% above the average of the remaining seven years, with
respect to the prevalence of property crime, 2020 represented the lowest number of such crimes
in the past ten years, and was 14.3% below the ten year average of these types of crimes.

The Grand Forks Police Department recognizes the importance of remaining ever vigilant regarding
emerging and developing crime trends. In reviewing the 2020 data, while many local crime statistics
trended downward or remained relatively stable, certain group patterns have continued. For the past
several years, we have seen elevated numbers of drug/narcotic crimes and citations, Aggravated Assaults,
Suspicious Activity, and Welfare Checks. In addition, with respect to 2020 data alone, we noticed a
significant increase in Fraud complaints, likely attributable to the prevalence of such activities associated
with COVID-19. We also noticed a reversal of a recent trend of suppressed Noisy Party reports. 2020
marked a 100% increase in Noisy Party reports generated from 2019, and an increase to the highest number
of such reports since 2013. This is a trend we will continue to monitor.

We will also continue to maintain our focus on substance use and mental health as community-wide issues.
Both require the collaboration of a number of community resources, all working together cooperatively.
Both require community engagement. The Grand Forks Police Department remains committed to enhanc-
ing the quality of life for the citizens of Grand Forks by actively working with our community partner
organizations to mitigate the effects of these two issues.

The officers and staff of the Grand Forks Police Department thank the citizens of Grand Forks, community
leaders, and our elected officials for their continuing partnership and assistance in making Grand Forks a
safe place within which we all live, work, play and thrive.

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 Grand Forks Police Department

2020 Items of Note...

COVID-19 defined the year 2020 in so many ways, and so, of course, it highlights this page.
For years, emergency services and public safety agencies have been conducting “table-top”
exercises on a variety of potential “what-if” scenarios. Pandemics have been a recurring theme
of those exercises, because the very concept of a pandemic touches every aspect of society, and
challenges emergency services and public safety like no other. Well, this year we found out
exactly how much we are challenged by a pandemic.
It was not only the executive orders and public health official mandates: it was the widely
varying public response; contending with business and citizen frustrations and objections;
working in an environment where everyone is wearing masks, including us; being cognizant of
bringing contacts with others into our own workplace and homes; figuring out the remote
workplace in a public safety agency; and contending with our own shortages of available
employees due to positive tests or close contacts. Through it all, we maintained the level of
service expected by the citizenry we serve, provided a voice of calm during times of heightened
emotions, and learned lessons we will carry forward, making us a stronger agency overall.

The national social justice movement did In the interest of enhancing our service to the
not leave our community untouched, and community of Grand Forks, and responding to the
we welcomed and embraced those interests and priorities of the citizenry we serve,
discussions. once again, the Grand Forks Police Department
has changed the way we do business.
We promoted the proactive nature of the
GFPD with regard to many of the issues In 2020, we shifted from having a bureau
being discussed on a national level; specializing in community policing practices, to
ensuring our community was confident we adopting the community policing model to all
are a progressive agency, meeting or uniformed patrol officers. We did so by asking
exceeding national best practices, and our patrol officers to “bid” not only for shifts, but
treating all individuals with respect and for areas within that shift. In doing so, each
dignity. We worked with protest officer will largely work within a single patrol area
organizers to ensure a safe environment for a year, or more. In addition, we redesigned
for them to exercise their First our patrol areas, to more accurately reflect areas
Amendment rights. of similar levels of demand, with regard to calls
for service.
The Grand Forks Police Department will
remain open and welcoming to dialogue We anticipate these changes to result in a more
with any individual or group. We stand by thorough understanding of neighborhood
our Mission Statement, and are dedicated activities, as well as more familiarity, and
to equitably serving all individuals with hopefully dialogue, with neighborhood residents.
respect and dignity. Find your neighborhood officer, and say hi!

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 Grand Forks Police Department

Uniform Crime Report (UCR) Offenses

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system is a nationwide statistical program which is
administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to monitor and track eight main criminal
offenses designed to gauge the state of crime in our Nation. This Crime Index compiles
information on violent crimes to include murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, property
crimes of burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft and arson. The following chart and graph
illustrate the 10-year UCR statistics for the City of Grand Forks.

% Change
Offense 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2019-2020

Murder 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 3 1 3 300.0%

Rape 32 39 32 29 40 40 28 27 26 31 19.2%

Robbery 9 20 26 15 23 26 32 21 23 14 -39.1%

Aggravated
90 93 87 81 110 109 115 91 109 106 -2.8%
Assault

Burglary 312 237 199 239 229 312 268 218 208 192 -7.7%

Larceny 1198 1169 1146 1266 1359 1405 1383 1111 1142 1038 -9.1%

Auto Theft 97 93 75 97 115 140 132 127 109 121 11.0%

Arson 6 2 3 6 2 1 3 1 5 0 -100.0%

Totals 1744 1654 1568 1734 1880 2034 1961 1599 1623 1504 -7.3%

2500

2000

1500

1000
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Number of UCR Crimes Committed in Grand Forks

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 Grand Forks Police Department

GFPD Non-UCR Crimes

The following chart illustrates a ten year statistical comparison for other crimes committed in
Grand Forks which are not listed in the Uniform Crime Report index. The Total Reports section at
the bottom reflects all incident reports, documenting criminal and non-criminal activity,
generated by officers at the Grand Forks Police Department in a given year.

% Change
Offense 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2019-2020

Threats / * 74 73 91 95 116 92 290 246 220 228 3.6%

Intimidation

Simple
434 376 327 324 443 466 442 392 392 348 -11.2%
Assault

Fraud /
224 252 302 332 414 355 385 374 348 454 30.5%
Forgery

Misc. Sex
43 41 34 39 40 50 58 39 48 47 -2.1%
Offenses

Criminal
863 693 493 551 515 555 576 459 468 480 2.6%
Mischief

Drugs /
231 231 284 326 278 388 570 480 479 528 10.2%
Narcotics

Loud / Noisy
233 184 148 82 48 51 82 38 48 96 100.0%
Party Reports

Total
9193 9223 8674 8860 9122 9500 10977 9585 9635 9118 -5.4%
Reports

* Harassment was included in this category in 2017

11000

10000

9000

8000

7000
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Number of Incident Reports Per Year

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 Grand Forks Police Department

GFPD Calls For Service

The following chart illustrates a ten year statistical comparison for a selection of high
volume type calls for police service. This is not an all inclusive list of the types of calls
of service to which our officers respond. The Total Calls for Service section at the
bottom reflects all services that were entered into our dispatch recording system for
the Grand Forks Police Department for the given year.

% Change
Call Types: 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
2019-2020

Disturbance/Noise/
2830 2623 2577 2361 2505 2563 2957 1765 2873 2922 1.7%
Disorderly Conduct:

Traffic Stops: 7856 9677 8093 8008 6867 6997 7751 7049 6243 7654 22.6%
Suspicious
2270 2578 2487 2427 2702 3282 3601 3334 3296 3276 -0.6%
Activity:
Juvenile Calls: 420 482 351 390 458 531 559 618 719 588 -18.2%

Warrants: 1522 1902 1382 927 809 984 884 936 834 619 -25.8%
Domestic
1108 980 1000 990 1188 1436 1336 1257 1287 1375 6.8%
Disturbances:

Welfare Checks: 1269 1517 1559 1537 1917 2022 2263 2375 2338 2190 -6.3%

Alarms: 874 887 916 962 904 901 893 931 991 851 -14.1%

Animal Calls: 1953 1877 1952 1789 1780 2043 2064 2378 2475 2337 -5.6%

Total Calls for

41,309 44,860 43,247 42,069 40,906 46,307 46,805 49,141 47,401 50,957 7.5%
Service:

55000
50000
45000
40000
35000
30000
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

GFPD Calls for Service

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 Grand Forks Police Department

GFPD Citations

The following chart illustrates a ten year statistical comparison for certain tracked citations
issued by the Grand Forks Police Department. The All Other and Total sections at the bottom
reflects all citations issued by Grand Forks Police Department personnel in a given year.

% Change
Citation 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2019-2020

DUI/APC * 293 328 292 297 275 219 154 141 230 216 -6.1%

DUS/DUR ** 348 390 350 353 314 309 557 448 517 684 32.3%

Open
37 31 26 38 15 34 32 29 29 29 0%
Container

Stop/Yield/
1150 1144 861 796 581 588 588 574 569 487 -14.4%
Traffic Signal

MIC/MIP *** 393 368 401 257 211 204 114 88 109 83 -23.8%

Speeding 1382 2046 1465 1693 1179 1425 1354 1439 1232 1165 -5.4%

Seatbelt/Child
180 269 197 213 191 138 149 145 137 166 21.2%
Restraint
Drugs/
217 270 284 356 277 453 609 579 604 617 2.2%
Paraphernalia

All Other 4914 5810 5184 4499 4732 4917 5196 4384 4093 3542 -13.5%

Totals 8914 10656 9060 8502 7775 8287 8753 7827 7520 6961 -7.4%

* DUI/APC = Driving or being in Actual Physical Control of a motor vehicle while Under the Influence of an intoxicant
** DUS/DUR = Driving Under Suspension or Driving Under Revocation (reflecting driver’s license status)
*** MIC/MIP = Minor In Consumption or Possession of alcohol

11000
10000
9000
8000
7000
6000
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Number of Citations Issued

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 Grand Forks Police Department

Grand Forks Parking Ticket Summary

The City of Grand Forks, and partnering agencies, issued a combined total of 8467 parking
tickets in 2020, which is a 38.8% decrease from the 13,829 issued in 2019. The GFPD issued
approximately 27% of the total parking tickets, a decrease in percentage from 4% in 2019. The
actual number of parking tickets issued by GFPD employees decreased by 59% from 2019 to
2020. This may be largely attributable to a moratorium on Street Maintenance parking tickets
for a three-month period, during the height of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our
community. The following list shows the number of tickets issued by each agency over the past
year along with a pie chart which shows the top 5 parking violations in Grand Forks.

Issuing Agency 2020 2019 %

GF Street Dept. 6,094 8,101 -24.8%
GF Police Dept. 2,271 5,572 -59.2%
UND Police Dept. 23 0 N/A
Red River H.S. 50 92 -45.7%
Central H.S. 0 0 0%
GF Park District 1 0 N/A
GF City Hall 19 23 -17.4%
GF Airport 1 9 -88.9% Overtim e Parking
No Parking Zone
GF Sheriff’s Office 8 32 -75.0% St. Maintence 8AM-4PM
Total Citations 8,467 13,829 -38.8% St. Maint. 1AM-6AM
Reserved Parking W/O Perm it

25000

20000

15000

10000

5000
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

10 Year Parking Citation Comparison

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 Grand Forks Police Department

GFPD Crash Summary

State Reportable Crashes in North Dakota are those accidents which are defined by the following
criteria; property damage in excess of $4,000 (up from $1,000 prior to 2019), or any sustained injury.
All other accidents which do not meet these criteria are considered as a Non-Reportable Accident.

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
State Reportable
Crashes 1441 1367 1517 1462 1436 1533 1660 1541 1359 827

Non-Reportable
Crashes 813 944 1063 974 792 864 963 940 1078 745
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Total 2254 2311 2580 2436 2228 2397 2623 2481 2437 1572

% Change
Crash Type 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2019-2020

Injury
290 309 289 281 312 276 269 232 249 173 -30.5%
Crashes
# Persons
404 413 393 381 425 367 345 339 334 218 -34.7%
Injured
Auto /
23 16 14 11 12 17 25 8 15 9 -40.0%
Pedestrian
Auto /
12 13 22 13 6 15 12 11 18 8 -55.6%
Bicycle
Auto /
24 15 10 8 4 6 11 7 7 9 28.6%
Motorcycle

Hit & Run 477 406 328 334 260 220 382 416 458 317 -30.8%

Fatal
1 1 2 1 0 0 2 4 4 4 0%
Crashes
# of
1 1 2 1 0 0 2 4 4 4 0%
Fatalities

200

150

100

50

0
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Reportable Accidents in 2020 Non-Reportable Accidents in 2020

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