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CLOQUET — After 45 minutes of discussion during a closed session meeting, the Cloquet City Council reconvened and unanimously voted to terminate the employment of a Cloquet Police Department officer, during a virtual meeting Wednesday, Feb. 2.
During the discussion period of the meeting no details were provided on why the officer, Laci Silgjord, was being terminated.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, two citizens expressed their support for Silgjord.
TJ and Kelli Smith spoke about how Silgjord helped them when they were dealing with Kelly Smith’s abuser breaking an order for protection. Their situation seemed to be separate from the matter that resulted in her termination.
TJ Smith said they had begged previous officers to do something and protect them in their situation.
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“I want to tell you that officer is an asset to this community,” he said. “Nobody else in Cloquet was willing to do that.”
After the Smiths addressed the council, city administrator Tim Peterson said he would not address any of the accusations during the council meeting.
Members of the city council did not discuss the issue before or after the vote.
This story originally contained a misspelling of Kelli Smith's name. It was updated at 9:45 a.m. Feb. 3 with the proper spelling. It was originally published at 9:49 p.m. Feb. 2. The Pine Journal regrets the error.
