Black or Brown??

In an email response from Inspector Cooper on December 10th, 2007 he wrote:

"Sheriff's Administration, however, decided that those Detention Deputies who have been issued brown leather could stay in their brown leather."

Today after an unrelated meeting I asked why his memo ordering the switch to black leather by February 28th was still posted. He said that's because the licensed deputies will still be required to change by then, but that he will be sending out an email to everyone shortly.

He also told me the return of uniform inspections will be coming very soon.

Excerpts from the Strib

A jury failed to reach a verdict Wednesday in the case of a Hennepin County jail deputy accused of criminal sexual conduct with a former inmate...

Defense lawyer Trevor Oliver said he hoped the prosecutor would reconsider pursuing another trial, but he didn't expect to agree to a plea bargain. He also didn't expect a second trial to be better for either side. "Both sides laid everything out as far as they could," Oliver said.

Source: Star Tribune click for full story

Thinking Out Loud

Thinking over the Dave R ordeal makes several thoughts go through my mind.

Why was such a serious allegation handled by the HCSO rather then the BCA or another county as is usually the case?

The conflicts of interest are numerous:

-The employee was investigated by the employer's detectives.
-Evidence gathered by the employer's crime lab.
-The accused and accuser were both incarcerated by the employer.
-The employer used the same county attorney's office they have a regular working relationship with.
-The case tried in the same courts they have a regular working relationship with.

I could go on and on but in my mind there is no way in hell this could be impartial.


How did the HCSO handle this? After Dave was out for four months cooperating 100% with a very embarrassing investigation including seizing things from his apartment, his truck and taking his DNA they decide to arrest him, bring him in to be booked on his own shift and by his own squad. They could have just given him his charge papers and told him to appear in court the next day, but no, they wanted a dog and pony show. For the record none of his DNA matched anything or was found on anything and none of the things taken in their search warrant were used in the trial. Nothing.

Ask yourself: Would this have happened in any other law enforcement agency? Would this have happened to a cop?

Now this case appears headed for a retrial. Why? The prosecution couldn't even prove their case the first time. How much more tax payer money must be spent on a 4th degree CSC investigation? An accusation of mutual sexual contact made by a felon 8 or 9 months after the alleged incident with no witnesses or physical proof whatsoever! Just the word of a felon who told 4 different versions of the story. So far they've paid Dave for 14 months not to be at work, spent more taxpayer money on a losing trial and are willing to spend more to do it all again.

How would I like to have seen this done? Let's look across the river. When a Ramsey County jailer was caught red handed in a child solicitation sting Sheriff Fletcher had him booked at the Dakota County jail and the investigation was handled by others. He didn't want one of their own booked into the jail that employed him. Even Sheriff McGowan had the good sense to have the BCA handle Jenkins accusations.

I don't believe for one minute Dave did the things they have accused him of and I'm fucking mad at the way the entire matter was and is being handled. I think things would have been handled totally different if he were licensed and if they didn't think he was gay.

One last thing to keep in mind. Dave has not been found guilty of anything. Dave has the full backing of Teamsters Local 320, the full backing of Team Legal and my full backing until they can prove, prove in a court of law beyond a reasonable doubt that he is guilty.

Hung Jury

Dave's jury hung! The burden of proof in our system is that the prosecutor must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. They failed to convince even 12 people a crime had been committed. I'll keep you posted about future developments.

Media Pressure

As you know Dave. R's jury is still out. Anyone on our egroup knows his side of the story. Unfortunately anyone accused of a crime knows the first thing advised by your attorney is to be quiet. So right now his side can't be published here or in the newspapers. Unfortunately this doesn't prevent the press from smearing your name or the KQ morning show from making a mockery of you, or even the Star Tribune from kicking you one more time when the jury is out.

One thing to remember is this, under our system a person is innocent until proven guilty. The standard of conviction is beyond reasonable doubt. There are three possible outcomes at this point:

1. Conviction
2. Acquittal
3. Hung Jury

Only in a conviction will the prosecution have proven it's case. Acquittal or even a hung jury means the prosecution couldn't even convince 12 people that a crime was committed.

So far Team Legal has spent over $20,000 on his defense. This is a real benefit to being a dues paying union member.

Watch this blog for an update when the verdict is in.

Steward Nominations

A nomination sheet will be posted for anyone interested in being a Teamsters Local 320 Union Steward. You must be a full dues paying member to be eligible- no fair share.

The sheet will be posted February 15th through the 29th at 1430. All interested members must put their own name on the sheet.

Ballots will be mailed to members on March 7th and counted on March 24th.

What does a steward do?

Stewards are on the front line every day, working directly with members to make sure contracts are enforced, workers' rights are not being violated, and the workplace is a safe place to be. You are the face of the union, and your role as communicator is critical to solidarity and membership participation. (Teamsters IBT)