St. Paul police officer Nicole Carle and Metro Transit officer Leonard Mitchell weren’t looking for suspects Friday afternoon as they patrolled bustling Payne Avenue on St. Paul’s East Side.
They were searching for handshakes and friendly “hellos.”
Friday was the first day of a policing partnership that paired St. Paul and Metro Transit officers to police part of the Payne-Phalen neighborhood on foot and try to make positive contact with kids, business owners and other residents.
St. Paul police and transit officials are intensifying their presence in one of the most troubled areas in the east metropolitan area, as a law enforcement officers try to stem the usual uptick in crime and violence in the summer months.
