OLMSTED COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

This reporter was covering a previous-day bank robbery. Then on live TV, the bandit came back for another try

Olivia Estright — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 16:46:00 GMT

ROCHESTER — A local TV reporter was preparing for a live broadcast in front of a bank that was robbed the day before.

Little did he know, the robber walked right past him moments before.

On Dec. 15, 2015, former KIMT-TV reporter Adam Sallet began reading his report in front of Sterling State Bank to inform viewers of the events that happened on Dec. 14: A lone man walked into the bank and slid a teller a handwritten note, demanding $5,000 in cash. The note contained references to the robber being in possession of a gun and a knife, though no weapons were displayed during the robbery. The teller gave the man $3,000, and he left the bank.

During Sallet’s live shot, a bank employee ran out of the building.

“It’s that guy right there,” the employee said, pointing off camera. “That’s the robber.”

The bank was robbed by the same person — two days in a row.

“Oh, that’s the robber. This is live TV, folks,” Sallet said, breaking away from his report. “That’s the robber — just went by, according to the bank employee. I gotta go here and call 911. I’ll talk to you later.”

Although he didn’t realize it at the time, Sallet’s camera footage captured the robber walking in and jogging out of the bank.

This time, according to the federal criminal complaint, the robber handed a different teller another handwritten note, demanding $10,000. The teller, who witnessed the robbery the day before, handed him $1,500. The suspect then asked for money out of the teller’s till, which included some prerecorded bills.

He left the bank and jogged to a nearby white van with a company logo on the side.

Forty-five minutes later, police arrested Ryan Russell Liskow at gunpoint in Coates.

Witnesses to the second robbery provided a description of the white van Liskow drove away in, allowing a Minnesota state trooper to pull the vehicle over.

Linking him to the robbery began on Dec. 13 when the Rochester Police Department received a report of a stolen vehicle. The caller told police that they believed Liskow stole the vehicle, which was described as a white van with writing on the side.

Liskow was taken into custody with nearly $1,500 on him and an additional $1,000 in his backpack. In a post-arrest interview, Liskow admitted to committing both bank robberies. He told police that he spent most of the money from the first robbery on illegal drugs, which he consumed.

Liskow was convicted of two counts of bank robbery and sentenced to nearly 10 years in a Florida prison on Oct. 12, 2016.

The robbery lands Sallet in the spotlight

Sallet’s quick reaction during the noon news turned him into an internet sensation.

His live shot went viral, receiving millions of views nationwide, including on all national networks, the Jimmy Kimmel Show, BBC and BuzzFeed.

In addition to a viral moment, Sallet’s broadcast actually won an award in 2016 from the Iowa Broadcasters Association for "Spot News Coverage."

"That was definitely a memorable, insane experience, and even now, about a year and a half later, I can count on somebody bringing it up daily," he said to the Post Bulletin in 2017. "Whether it's in the public or one of my co-workers, it always comes up, which is kind of remarkable. After a week or two it kind of died down, but that's definitely something people know me for."

According to his LinkedIn account, Sallet is now a news producer at KCAL in Los Angeles.

Where’s Liskow now?

On June 21, 2024, Liskow was released on supervised probation to a halfway house facility. Five days later, he made an initial appearance for an alleged supervised release violation, admitting that he left the facility without approval.

As of July 17, Liskow was committed to the custody of the attorney general for confinement in prison.

“Given the nature of the underlying conviction, as well as Mr. Liskow’s history for the short period of time in which he has been subject to supervised release, the court finds that less restrictive measures do not alleviate the court’s concerns regarding public safety,” the order of detention read.

Liskow was previously convicted by a federal jury in 2010 after robbing a Minneapolis bank with a Rochester man. In 2008, Liskow was also convicted of a felony count of third-degree burglary.

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Minnesota authorities find 'suspicious' dead body in backseat of crashed car

Staff reports — Mon, 24 Jun 2024 16:06:15 GMT

ROCHESTER — While responding to a single-vehicle crash Saturday morning on Interstate 90, the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office found a dead body in the back seat, according to a press release.

The sheriff's office responded to the crash around 7 a.m. Saturday, June 22, near the Eyota exit. The driver, 32-year-old Margot Lewis, was out of the vehicle and being tended to by a passerby. While checking to see if anyone else was in the vehicle, deputies found the body of a 35-year-old woman in the back seat.

According to the release, the condition of the woman who was found dead was "suspicious," and it was “immediately apparent” the death wasn’t a result of the crash.

Lewis was medically cleared and placed under arrest for interference with a dead body, the release said.

Lewis is expected to make an appearance on this case in court on Tuesday.

The name of the deceased is being withheld until next-of-kin notifications can be made.

Minnesota State Patrol, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Eyota Fire Department and Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service assisted with the initial call.

"As this is an ongoing investigation, no further information can be released at this time," the release said.

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Former Olmsted County deputy used work time to solicit teens for sex, search warrant claims

Mark Wasson — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 21:26:24 GMT

ROCHESTER — A former Olmsted County sheriff's deputy attempted to barter sexual favors from someone he thought was a teenage girl over a social media app while he was at work, according to a search warrant released on Friday.

Mathew Richard Adamson, 44, faces three felonies related to soliciting a child, three felonies related to possessing child sexual abuse material, four gross misdemeanors related to interfering with someone's privacy, and one gross misdemeanor related to the misconduct of a public official. His next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 24.

Adamson was caught in a law enforcement undercover sting conducted by the Rochester Police Department and state investigators as he tried to meet up with someone he thought was a teenage girl.

According to an RPD search warrant, Adamson had a conversation with an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl over two days through the social media app Whisper, where, the court document says, he offered to purchase alcohol in exchange for sexual favors.

The chat logs released in the search show Adamson giving detailed instructions regarding sexual acts.

"I don't need money, I usually exchange alcohol or cigs for other services. I am willing to negotiate ... ," Adamson wrote to the undercover officer. He went on to describe multiple sexual acts. "I don't pressure people, only if they want to do this. I also don't change the deal once we agree."

Adamson mentions that he is working while the conversation takes place, according to the search warrant.

Police seized a Google Pixel 8 smartphone, an Android Smartwatch, a Dell laptop, two USB drives, a work-issued iPhone 12, a box of tissues, and two packs of generic Viagra, according to the search warrant inventory list. Adamson's work locker, in addition to his vehicle, was searched by police.

In addition to his solicitation charges, Adamson is accused of possessing nude screenshots of women being detained at the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center, as well as videos and images that include underage girls in different bathrooms that appeared to be taken without their consent.

Olmsted County began the process to terminate Adamson following his initial charges in late October. No longer a deputy with the Sheriff's Office, he was employed there from 2005 to 2023.

"The alleged conduct described in these criminal complaints is inconsistent with the values of the Sheriff’s Office, the work of the individual Sheriff’s Office employees who have dedicated their lives to public service, and the communities we have sworn to serve," Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson said in a statement on Thursday afternoon, Dec. 7.

"The Olmsted County Sheriff's Office takes great pride in the trust the public places in us to respect and support all people in our communities. We will continue to serve and protect our communities to the best of our judgment and abilities."

Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem has recused himself from both cases and appointed Assistant Mower County attorneys to lead Adamson's prosecution.

RPD was initially tipped off to Adamson's behavior by local YouTube vigilante Chase Johnston. Johnston claimed Adamson attempted to solicit a girl but the information was never forwarded to the Olmsted County Attorney's Office, at the direction of Ostrem.

Adamson also worked as a police officer in St. Charles from 2003 to 2007 and was a Rochester Public ��s substitute teacher from 2003 to 2005.

He is one of two former law enforcement officials currently charged in Olmsted County with a sex crime against a child.

Former Rochester police officer Timothy Robert Morgenstern, 23, of Rochester, is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving contact, and using minors in a sexual performance, all felonies. The charges also mention his position of authority over the victim.

Morgenstern is accused of grooming a juvenile female and raping her after meeting her as a coach at John Marshall High �� in 2022, according to the criminal complaint.

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Rochester high school student killed in crash over homecoming weekend

Mark Wasson — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 15:25:14 GMT

CASCADE TOWNSHIP, Minn. — A 16-year-old Century High �� student was killed in a three-vehicle crash in Cascade Township just outside Rochester on Saturday, Oct. 7, according to Olmsted County Sheriff's Capt. Tim Parkin.

According to Parkin:

Deputies responded to a crash at the intersection of Broadway Avenue North near Woodridge Lane Northeast around 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

One of the drivers, Davin Tukua, was trapped inside his vehicle. He was eventually extracted by deputies with the help of good samaritans. While first responders attempted life-saving measures, Tukua, a Century High �� student, was pronounced dead at the scene.

While the cause of the crash is under investigation, Parkin said preliminary reports show that Tukua was headed southbound on Broadway when his vehicle crossed the center line and crashed into another vehicle going northbound. A third vehicle rear-ended the other vehicle going northbound.

Minor injuries were reported from at least one of the drivers from the other two vehicles, a 64-year-old Wabasha man and a 32-year-old Rochester man.

Contradicting some social media reports about the crash, Parkin said preliminary information shows this crash was not a hit-and-run, as all the vehicles involved were disabled following the crash.

A GoFundMe has been started by the family to help cover funeral expenses. As of Monday morning, more than $12,000 has been raised.

"Davin was an incredible young man: an amazing son and brother, an adventurous cousin, kind, gentle & fun with his younger cousins and a wonderful friend to so many people. His bright smile and energy always lit up a room," part of the GoFundMe reads. "Davin will forever be in our hearts and everyone else's heart that he touched with his bright light. His memory will forever be cherished as a bright light extinguished far too soon."

The crash happened over Century's homecoming weekend. In an email to families and staff, Rochester Public ��s Superintendent Kent Pekel said the district learned about the crash on Saturday evening, shortly before the homecoming dance. The school opted to have the dance to give students the chance to "be together at what may be a difficult time."

"We are thinking of the family and friends of the Century student who lost their life this evening, and we will provide additional information and assistance in the days ahead," Pekel said in the email.

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Red Flag laws: How they work. 'Taking out the speed bump'

Matthew Stolle — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 14:20:00 GMT

ROCHESTER — They are called “red flag” laws for short, and last month Minnesota became the latest state to pass a measure aimed at restricting potentially dangerous people from accessing dangerous weapons.

But how do they work? And how will life, particularly those of gun owners, be different under the new law?

There are now 20 states with red flag laws on their books. They can differ from state to state. Minnesota’s red flag law allows a friend or family member to bypass law enforcement and take their case directly to a judge. Minnesota's law will take effect Jan. 1, 2024.

Earlier laws in Connecticut and other states took a different approach, requiring the public to make reports to prosecutors or the police, who would decide whether to petition the courts. Minnesota sidesteps that requirement.

Previously, a person in Minnesota concerned about a family member’s access to guns could “always call law enforcement, but law enforcement then has to basically develop a case on their own,” Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem said. “It takes out that speed bump and allows that information to be put directly into the petition.”

The who and the what

The petitioners can be family or household members, chief law enforcement officers, mental health professionals, city or county attorneys, or guardians.

The petition must contain certain elements. It must allege the person poses a significant danger of bodily injury to others or at is risk of committing suicide by possessing a fire arm. It also must be accompanied by an affidavit made under oath.

The law lays out two paths for seeking a protective order. Both are to be used only when there is an imminence of danger, but one imagines a need for quicker action. A petitioner in such a situation has to meet a “probable cause” standard to get an initial 14-day emergency order.

A petitioner can also seek a protection order that can last up to a year, but the bar for meeting that standard rises to “clear and convincing” evidence, a step below “beyond a reasonable doubt.” And unlike an ex parte hearing, the gun owner is given advance notice and gets a full hearing where both parties are present.

Initially, in seeking an emergency risk protection order, the petition can be made “ex parte,” meaning that notice doesn’t have to be given to a gun owner of the civil action being taken. An ex parte motion, thus, can be granted without waiting for a response from the gun order. But the order would be short term and would be in effect for 14 days.

Ex parte motions are commonly used in situations where there is a pressing need for urgent relief, such as in domestic abuse cases when a spouse is seeking a non-contact or restraining order.

Keeping it real

Ex parte motions imagine a need for quick relief, but there is also the potential for abuse, said Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson.

“That’s where the real rub comes in,” Torgerson said. “We also want to make sure that these allegations are real. And it’s not some kind of vendetta against an ex-spouse. Maybe there’s an argument over kids, and they’re a hunter, and it’s hunting season.”

Once an emergency risk protection order is granted, the order is forwarded by the court administrator within 24 hours to the local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the gun owner.

It is the responsibility of the police or the sheriff’s department to seize and hold the guns. The gun owner can arrange to have the weapons transferred to a licensed dealer if they prefer, and it can be arranged. Only relics and antiques can be transferred to a family member. The law also requires the court to send the order to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to keep the person from buying weapons.

Ken Schueler, a Rochester attorney with an extensive background in ex parte motions, said there is no question that some people will seek to abuse a process premised on speed and avoiding irreparable harm.

But there are legal consequences for trying to use the process unfairly. A person can be sued. Minnesota statute also “deals with people that assert claims in court in bad faith,” Schuler said.

“It’s gonna happen,” Schueler said about abuse of ex parte motions. “But in my experience, if a judge discovers that someone had no good faith basis for what they did, I mean, hell hath no fury. You’re going to get sanctioned by the court, and you will rue the day that you made that choice.”

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Linda Jean Anger missing after 30 years, without a clue as to why

Brian Todd — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 12:32:00 GMT

ROCHESTER, Minn. — One moment, Linda Jean Anger was there. The next moment, she was gone.

What happened between those two moments on May 7, 1993? No one seems to know. And what is known — the report from her ex-husband, the lack of contact with her family, her leaving her kids — makes little sense.

On that Friday morning, Linda Anger, then 40 years old, disappeared with nary a clue left behind.

"We are not much further on this than we were one year ago in regards to knowing her whereabouts," then-Olmsted County Sheriff Capt. Dave Mueller told the Rochester Post Bulletin a year after Anger went missing.

Not much else has been learned in the intervening years.

"We have not had any leads in this case," Olmsted County Sheriff's Lt. Malinda Hanson said on May 31 roughly 30 years after Anger's disappearance.

That Friday morning

On the morning of May 7, 1993, Anger and her two children were living with her ex-husband, Dennis Anger, and Dennis' new wife, Gina Russ, in a home at a Paws & Claws facility located in Salem Township south of Byron.

According to police reports at the time, Dennis said he and Linda left the house at about 7:30 a.m. as the children were waiting for the school bus. The children — DJ and Erik, then 13 and 11, respectively — corroborated that part of the story, saying their parents got in the car and left.

As Anger later told deputies, Linda had an early appointment with someone at the courthouse — then located at 200 Second St. SW — where she planned to meet with someone from social services to obtain some aid for her and her children. Anger said he dropped her off in the parking lot at 8 a.m.

"Linda did not have an appointment with social services and nobody was expecting her," Hanson said.

In fact, reports from the time insist that no one saw Linda in the parking lot, and no one in the building met with her that morning.

Anger added that he then went home, Hanson said, where Russ was alone, asleep after working late the previous night.

Between the boys seeing Linda and Anger drive off in the car, and Anger's report that he left her at the courthouse parking lot, no one has seen Linda since.

Linda is missed

Linda had moved to Rochester from Bullhead City, Arizona, three months previously. She and Anger had an informal custody arrangement where she kept the boys during the school year, and Anger got the children in the summer. But wanting her boys to be closer to their father, she moved to Rochester and lived with Anger and Russ.

The whole group lived in a house at the Paws & Claws site.

After arriving in Rochester, Linda found work at Schmitt Printing in Rochester. One of her coworkers, Kevin Chinn, first noted her absence that morning.

Hanson said according to reports at the time, on that Friday, her coworker called and requested a welfare check on Linda because she had not shown up for work. Deputies went out to the house, and Anger stated he dropped Linda off at social services that morning. He also reported she told him she planned to take a few days off from work.

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By Sunday, Linda had still not shown up for work, and Chinn came to the government center to report Linda was missing. When deputies went to the Anger residence on Monday, Anger reported her missing as well.

At the time, Chinn called her disappearance strange.

"It just didn't sound right," Chinn said.

Chinn did corroborate part of Anger's story, telling law enforcement he thought Linda may have been going to the courthouse to obtain medical assistance for her children and financial assistance so she and her children could get a hotel room.

Russ said at the time they were "mystified" by Linda's disappearance. She described Linda as friendly but quiet, and a good mother to her two young sons.

"We don't know what's going on," Russ said.

According to Russ, Anger and Linda had been married for about four years, divorcing 11 years previously. Linda, originally from California, had lived in Arizona until February 1993 when she moved to Rochester.

Family frustration

It was a move her family in Arizona thought ill-advised. Her sister, Sandra Carr of Bullhead City, said the family told Linda to let the boys go live with Anger and take a break from being a single mother. But Linda gave up her job at a casino to move north.

"But she wouldn't do that," Carr told the Post Bulletin in July 1993. "She wouldn't leave those kids. That was the most important thing."

Carr added that leaving without calling was also out of character for her sister. "It's just not like her," Carr said. "She would have called.

"We are so worried," Carr said. "You just never think that something like this would happen to someone in your family."

Carr said nearly three months into Linda's disappearance that the family had begun to fear for Linda's life.

"I wish I had money to fly up there and investigate myself," she said, expressing frustration with the progress being made in Minnesota on the case. "But I don't."

Carr wasn't the only one feeling the frustration.

Chuck Sorenson, a chief deputy with the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office at the time, said leads were "few and far between." Tips that Linda may have been seen in Albert Lea or on a Rochester City Lines bus heading north to the Twin Cities came to nothing. And no clues led to the suspicion of foul play, other than Linda's unexplained disappearance.

Year after year, nothing

At the one-year mark, Mueller said, "It has been from the beginning a very suspicious disappearance. At this point, we don't have any new information to show that she is alive, nor do we have anything more than we had a year ago to point that she is deceased, other than not having contact with family members."

Still, Mueller said there was little reason to believe she was hiding out.

In 2007, Dennis Anger died, and anything else he might have known went with him.

In 2008, Olmsted County Sheriff’s Detective Dave Rikhus told the Post Bulletin that each year he walks the same plot of land south of Byron looking for clues, hoping for some nugget of inspiration that will lead him to answers, lead him to Linda.

"I’ve walked the area looking for any kind of a sign," Rikhus said.

Rikhus, who recently retired, said in 2008 that he suspected Linda was the victim of a homicide. But without a body and without any evidence at all, prosecuting someone for a suspected crime is impossible.

On May 5, 2023, the Olmsted County Sheriff's Office posted a reminder of Linda's disappearance, again asking for anyone with knowledge of her disappearance to step forward and help solve the case.

After 30 years, Hanson said deputies and detectives still hope to close the case.

"The benefit of finding out any additional information about Linda’s disappearance or possible death is always beneficial to the family, community and all who investigated her disappearance," Hanson said.

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Man found dead outside southern Minnesota home

Abby Sharpe — Tue, 30 May 2023 19:20:03 GMT

PINE ISLAND, Minn. — A man was found dead outside a home near Pine Island Monday, May 29, 2023, according to Olmsted County Sheriff Capt. Tim Parkin.

According to Parkin:

Olmsted County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 9300 block of County Road 5 Northwest at 5:49 p.m. Monday. The preliminary information from dispatch said a person appeared to be burned near the driveway of the house.

The Pine Island Fire Department responded to the scene first and pronounced the person deceased. The person was identified as 30-year-old Jacob Byler, who lived at the home.

There was a fire that appeared to be limited to a section of the house and Byler was found with burn wounds. He is the only one believed to be injured in the incident.

There are multiple roommates living in the house and they are cooperating with law enforcement.

Parkin was unable to comment further on the incident, citing the fire marshal's investigation. Pine Island is about 18 miles north of Rochester.

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SE Minn. jail team trains for developmentally disabled detainees

Mark Wasson — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 15:56:29 GMT

ROCHESTER — An interaction between an Olmsted County detention deputy and a detainee was not going well.

But this wasn't a case of someone bucking authority in the jail. Instead, the inmate was autistic, and the behaviors the detainee exhibited, which could easily be misunderstood as defiance, were actually just miscommunication.

Fortunately, the situation was brought to the attention of Olmsted County Sheriff's Capt. Macey Tesmer, who immediately thought of a cousin who is developmentally disabled, and realized the interaction was one that might occur if her cousin was brought to jail.

Tesmer's cousin isn't always the most talkative person, and when you're brought into a jail setting, you're asked a lot of questions: Who's your mom? Who's your dad? Where were you born? What's your ethnicity?

"There's no way that she would be able to answer those questions, and then she would get frustrated and more nervous and more anxious and then less willing to communicate," Tesmer said.

Building a team

Starting with four team members in 2019, the specially trained staff has grown to 15 out of about 99 Olmsted County jail personnel. A majority of the team either are deputies who have a background involved in helping disabled people or who have disabled family members.

Tesmer and Sheriff's Office staff began to develop a plan to train deputies, but they ran into a roadblock; most of the current training available focuses on working with clients in the community, not in a detention setting.

The Sheriff's Office was able to work with Olmsted County Social Services to provide initial overview training and eventually was able to get training from the University of Minnesota through a program called DirectCourse. �� staff were able to look through their catalog and pick out classes that could benefit the team.

It gives staff additional information, which is helpful, but it's still not the ideal training for jail staff, Tesmer said.

While some law enforcement training is geared toward interacting with autistic individuals, that's about all they have found.

"Our biggest challenge has been how do we take bits and pieces of what we can get, that's available to us, and apply that to what we do," Tesmer said. "Because it is a very different environment than working with somebody in a group home."

Touching and questions can be confusing for developmentally disabled people, so working to make sure detainees understand what's happening is a key factor in success.

"If they have to stay in custody, how do we get this person to do a strip search? That's traumatic enough for a normal individual who doesn't have any developmental disabilities," Tesmer said. "So then, how do we get them through that?"

This is why detainee staff have a manual with pictures that will walk a person who is entering the facility through what is happening and why.

"It's scary to go to jail for anybody, but then you add somebody who doesn't really understand what's happening, and that makes it even scarier," Tesmer said. "So we want to try and be able to get them through the process with as little interruption for them as possible."

It's much different when someone is under the influence, Tesmer said; you can have them go sleep for a while and that may help.

"But somebody who has a developmental disability, that little nap isn't going to make a difference," Tesmer said.

New approaches

According to Tesmer, it's all about slowing things down and taking the time to communicate with someone. Her office provides fidget spinners and weighted blankets to help calm nerves, as well.

There are also two social workers who are embedded in the jail who can help identify what might be happening with someone who is locked up. Jail staff are able to input that information into a national database accessible to law enforcement, so if there is another interaction with police and that person, officers can know beforehand that the situation they're walking into might need a different set of tactics.

The program is working, according to Tesmer, with the team focusing on individual needs and what might help the process along. Sometimes it's getting headphones for a person who likes music. Sometimes it's letting a detainee who's leaving keep one of the fidget spinners.

"I’m very excited about this team," Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson wrote in an email to the Post Bulletin. "It has already paid dividends in the sense that it has allowed our staff to work with the detainees as they come in, in a place where they are at and the challenges they may have regardless of the challenges of incarceration, even if it is temporary."

Real-world incidents

Incidents involving people who react differently to police orders can happen outside the jail setting, as well. Recently, Rochester police officers were called to a spot on the river behind the Government Center early on March 7 to help assist the Rochester Fire Department with a man who was walking in the river.

He refused to get off the ice shelf and wasn't cooperating with RFD personnel.

"He basically wouldn’t listen to what first responders were communicating to him, nor was he communicating back to first responders," RPD Capt. Casey Moilanen wrote in an email to the Post Bulletin.

Fire personnel asked an RPD officer to suit up and go out to the ice shelf to try to get the man back to shore for medical care.

"RFD felt the subject was in immediate danger to himself — he was soaking wet, and it was only about 30 degrees outside," Moilanen wrote.

While the man behaved the same way toward the RPD officer, both agencies were eventually able to get him out of the river without incident and he was taken to Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys Campus.

"The Rochester Police Department values the sanctity of human life for both our community members and our staff. We make every effort to provide the training, equipment, supervision and procedures that will increase the probability that each incident we respond to can be resolved safely for everyone involved," Moilanen said.

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BCA investigating inmate death in Olmsted County

Mark Wasson — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 21:19:14 GMT

ROCHESTER — A 59-year-old man died Monday, Jan. 16, in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center, according to a news release from Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson.

Russell James Simon Jr. was found not breathing by a detention deputy around 5 a.m. Monday during a well-being check and resuscitation efforts were not effective, according to Torgerson. Mayo Clinic Ambulance was called to the detention center to assist.

Simon was being held on assault charges and a Minnesota Department of Corrections hold.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has taken over the investigation into Simon's death and the Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner's Officer will perform an autopsy.

No detention deputies are on administrative leave, according to Torgerson

"We extend our condolences to Mr. Simon’s family and friends upon their loss," Torgerson wrote. "The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office is also supporting our staff currently in accordance with our normal procedures."

Simon was a former motivational speaker who had a long history with the criminal justice system.

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This Minnesota sheriff is pushing for overdose reporting from medical facilities to law enforcement

Mark Wasson — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 15:59:00 GMT

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Olmsted County Sheriff Kevin Torgerson has been gathering support to require medical facilities to report suspected overdoses to law enforcement.

The push stems from an increase in overdose deaths reported in Olmsted County. In 2020, the county reported 30 overdose deaths, almost double the reported 18 deaths in 2019, according to data from the Minnesota Department of Health.

"We want to be notified so we can hopefully do an investigation and find some justice for the victim," Torgerson said.

The way the law sits right now, by the time law enforcement is notified of an overdose, it may be too late to pursue charges against the person who supplied the drugs, according to Torgerson.

Department of Health data also shows that 2021 saw another increase with 32 reported overdose deaths. Over the course of a decade, overdose deaths have trended upward, in 2011, the amount of reported overdose deaths was 12.

The Minnesota statute in question requires health professionals to report injuries resulting from a gunshot, burn injuries and any wound they believe was inflicted on a perpetrator of a crime by a dangerous weapon.

Torgerson is seeking changes to the language so that when someone is treated at a health care facility for a suspected overdose, they will be required to report it to law enforcement.

"We're at the beginning phases and just talking about it," he said. "We got to find a way to get ahead of this thing somehow. I feel like we're way behind it right now and we're just kind of treading water."

Statewide, Minnesota counties with a significant population center have seen overdose death increases since 2011 with Hennepin County taking the No. 1 spot for overdose deaths, according to Department of Health data. The county had 396 reported overdose deaths in 2021 compared to 128 reported overdose deaths in 2011.

"This is an issue across the state, whether it's the larger metro area or ours, a kind of urban metro or even rural Minnesota," Torgerson said.

The Rochester Police Department has recorded 14 overdose deaths so far this year in Rochester, compared to seven deaths during the same time frame in 2021.

While overdose deaths are up in Rochester, reported overdoses in total are down for this year, with 91 reported so far in 2022 and 97 reported during the same time frame in 2021.

Rochester Police Sgt. Chad Blanchette attributes the decrease in reported overdoes to naloxone, a drug that can rapidly reverse an opioid overdose, being more readily available.

"When someone overdoses, we’re finding that friends or family members are giving naloxone and not calling 911. The immediate use of naloxone is great; however, I would still prefer emergency services be utilized too," Blanchette wrote in an email for this story. "There are times when a single dose of naloxone is ineffective and each second is vital during a medical emergency. The sooner we can get first responders and paramedics on scene, the more likely the person will survive."

Discrepancies in reported numbers are also part of the issue law enforcement says they are facing.

Law enforcement uses an overdose map that police and emergency medical personnel input data into to track deaths. In early October, Olmsted County Sheriff's Capt. Mike Bromberg said that map showed 17 overdose deaths in county so far in 2022.

"But when I call the Minnesota Department of Health and get the numbers from them, I'm at 30 (overdose deaths in the county)," he said, adding that the number from the Department of Health is only from January to June, leaving a three-month gap for numbers in the county.

This, added in with overdoses that aren't reported, means no one, from law enforcement to medical researchers, know the breadth of the problem.

"I'm fearful that the increase in addiction, substance abuse disorders and, quite frankly, mental health as well, are going to be some the most lasting lingering effects of COVID," GOP state Sen. Carla Nelson said.

She was intrigued by Torgerson's proposal to change reporting requirements and wants to start the conversation in the Legislature.

"My sense is, the reason this would be helpful would not be because of the person who is showing up in the ER, but for the traffickers, the dealers, people who are pushing these drugs that are killing Minnesotans," Nelson said. "We want people to come in, we want them to get help immediately if they're having an overdose but specifically, we want to go after the people who are peddling this poison."

Stigma of addiction

"The most important thing to tell people with chemical dependence challenges and their families is that, in the health care system, we will treat them with kindness and respect, and we will protect their confidentiality," said Dr. Will Nicholson, president of the Minnesota Medical Association.

The Minnesota Medical Association doesn't have a specific stance on changing reporting requirements, according to Nicholson, but the association is looking into reviewing opioids, which he called a huge challenge in the state.

"We would never want to put any burden or barrier between life saving medical care and that person," he said. "At times, fear of getting into trouble can be a barrier, and I would hate to have that result in someone not getting care when they could have and having a bad outcome because of that."

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Law enforcement isn't looking to out people's private medical information, Torgerson said, and he said he doesn't want to shame medical professionals for serving their patients, but overdoses, particularly with the introduction of fentanyl, is a national issue and one that the nation needs to address.

"We don't talk about those things because of that stigma with addiction," Torgerson said. "It brings shame on the family and all that, and I fully understand it but if these (deaths) were gunshots or even stabbings, 30 stabbings, would people think of it that way?"

Both Bromberg and Torgerson said law enforcement is only notified of overdose deaths when police are already involved in the case, are present at the emergency room or when family members call asking questions.

"By the time a family member calls us and says 'Hey, my loved one died of an overdose death two weeks ago, what can you do for us?' All their phones are gone and any evidence where they were at are gone which makes these cases almost impossible to prosecute," Bromberg said.

The focus on getting reporting requirements changed is go after the dealers, according to Bromberg and Torgerson, and not those suffering from addiction.

"The medical community likes to hide behind HIPAA on a lot of things but this is a public health epidemic, actually, and I would hope they would they would see the harm this does and society seems to have gotten away from victim rights," Bromberg said.

Nicholson said he understands why law enforcement is grappling with this issue and suggested we need to also be more proactive as a society and work together to solve addiction related issues.

"We have to get rid of all the stigma and we have to look at this like any other illness," Nicholson said. "We've got to treat people with chemical dependence just like people with heart attacks or strokes or diabetes. It's a different toolkit to treat them, it's a different set of things to prevent, but they have an illness just like any other illness. There is a treatment, there's prevention, and we should be the best state in the country for managing those things."

Blanchette wrote that crisis intervention training helps officers navigate situations involving addiction, with a focus on getting an individual help through their assisted recovery program.

"Social workers known as community outreach specialists often respond to overdose calls along with law enforcement, and together we work to make sure the person is aware of the resources available to them," he wrote. "Even though we don’t always get through to someone fighting addiction, we don’t give up. People have to be ready to accept the help that is being offered to them, and the power of addiction is not easy to overcome."

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