North Dakota Asks For Feds To Secure DAPL; DC Says No

The federal government doesn't plan to meet North Dakota's law enforcement request for 100 federal officers to help police protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

The Justice Department tells The Associated Press that the agency thinks additional officers might escalate tensions, not ease them.

The department also says it has offered training and technical assistance to local officers and worked to foster dialogue among law enforcement and pipeline opponents who've been camped on federal land for months.

Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier says that isn't good enough and hasn't helped. He's long been critical of what he perceives to be a lack of federal aid.

Jonathan F. Thompson, the executive director of the National Sheriffs' Association, says his group has "asked, pleaded and nearly begged" for federal officers.