St. Paul police union opposes Sara Jane Olson's return
(AP) - The St. Paul Police Federation is fighting Sara Jane Olson's efforts to return to St. Paul after she's paroled Tuesday.
The union wrote to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday to oppose her return, saying she committed her crimes in California, so she should serve her entire sentence there.
Federation President David Titus questions whether Olson's neighbors in St. Paul would report her if she violated parole.
The Los Angeles police union raised similar objections Monday.
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Olson has served seven years in prison for attempted bombings of Los Angeles police cars in the 1970s and the shooting death of a bank customer in 1975.
She was part of the Symbionese Liberation Army and was arrested in St. Paul in 1999 after living there as a fugitive for 25 years.
Shari Burt, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Corrections, said Olson was able to make the request under an interstate compact. She invoked a clause that allows parolees to request that they live with family.
"I want to be clear that Minnesota has nothing to do with the decision to parole her from prison," Burt said. "That's California. We're not weighing in on whether she should be paroled."
If Olson returns to Minnesota, she would be supervised by Ramsey County Community Corrections for the three years of her parole.
Burt said that department conducted an investigation and determined that Olson fit the criteria for placement with family. Burt said data privacy laws prevent her from identifying where exactly Olson would live.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
