ST. CLOUD — Authorities are investigating a fire that happened at the COP House on St. Cloud's south side just after 3 a.m. Wednesday, according to Bill Mund, chair of the Greater St. Cloud Public Safety Foundation.
"There definitely was an accelerant that was poured on the south side of the house and lit up," said Mund, who also served as St. Cloud's fire chief for 12 years. "So somebody attempted to cause damage to the community outpost."
Requests for more information Thursday to the fire department and police department were not returned by deadline for this report, but Mund told the Times he verified with Fire Marshal Mike Post the fire is under investigation by the fire and police departments.
Tuesday night marked the city's third night of unrest after protests broke out early Monday morning after police arrested a man suspected of having a firearm.
MORE: Tensions rise after two nights of clashes between police, crowds
The COP House — the St. Cloud Rotary Richard C. Wislon Community OutPost — is at 600-13th St. S. It opened in 2017 after the Greater St. Cloud Public Safety Foundation purchased the former house on the property and tore it down.
The foundation partnered with St. Cloud police to establish the COP House program, which is modeled after a program in Racine, Wisconsin. The house is home base for officers in an area where police calls are high and where community-oriented policing can be used to improve troubled neighborhoods.
MORE: St. Cloud COP House by the numbers
It also houses Stearns County Social Services, space for dental and health visits, after-school programming and ambulatory services.
"This is not a city building. It is privately owned by our foundation and was built to provide services for that community," Mund said. "This is private property. It is not a government structure of any kind. It was built with private monies that were raised in the community and a lot of the construction was donated labor by all the trades."
Mund said he wasn't sure of the extent of the damage. He is asking anyone with information to contact the fire or police departments.
"It's really kind of a punch to the gut that we're working hard to try to provide services to a neighborhood that needed services and somebody would, for no reason in our mind other than police officers are associated with it ... try to burn this down," Mund said. " It makes no sense to us."
During the arrest Monday, the suspect fled and a police officer was shot in the hand when he was apprehended. The incident sparked false rumors of Black men being shot, which triggered that crowd to march to St. Cloud police headquarters, doing damage along the way and eventually at the police station early Monday morning.
Monday night into Tuesday morning was even worse — with gun shots sparking another night of unrest, looting and violence. By Tuesday night, protests were mostly peaceful, with people speaking into loud speakers and sharing stories.
Jenny Berg is the cities and schools reporter for the St. Cloud Times. Reach her at 320-259-3680 or jberg@stcloudtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter @bergjenny.
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'A punch to the gut:' Authorities investigate fire at COP House - SC Times
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