> The police deliberately and knowingly allowed the continued, systematic > break-ins and burglaries of parked cars in our neighborhood, and threatened > Shegstad with arrest for trying to stop it! > > Shegstad filed a complaint with Internal Affairs, and contacted the Mayor. > The Mayor's office is investigating. > > Mark Anderson responds: > If everything happened exactly as you related it, this truly is outrageous. > Please keep us informed as to what happens to Shegstad's complaint. Maybe > this story should be sent to the media; since the police don't seem to take > complaints seriously unless widely publicized.
Actually, on reviewing Dave Shegstad's written complaint to Internal Affairs, I did discover a point of fact I was mistaken on. Dave Shegstad DID make a citizens arrest, but did so with uniformed police assistance. He didn't have to handle that phase solo, at least. Other than that timing misunderstanding (due to verbal retelling by Dave to me), the story as I related it is accurate. The officers briefly detained the suspects, wrote citations, and let them go. Twice. The third complaint went unheeded, and the sergeant on duty later called Shegstad, told him to get back in his house, and stop calling, or the sergeant would arrest DAVE. > I would sure like to hear a police response to this. Greg Reinhardt, does > the description of the activity above make sense to you? Do you have > insight as to what happened there? My understanding is that you don't do > police relations anymore, but can you forward it to whoever does? > > Anne McCandless, do you have any insight on this? Does it make sense that > cops would merely give a citation to burglars if "only" a misdemeanor? After posting my story, Inspector Scott Gerlicher, 3rd Precinct commander wrote me a brief email, saying he'd reviewed the reports on this incident, and he'd like to speak with me. He'd like to explain some "limitations to the system" as far as their ability to make arrests, and take people to jail. I haven't had the opportunity to speak with him yet, but look forward to the conversation. At present, the situation still seems mind-boggling. I'm hoping Inspector Gerlicher will shed some light on this issue when he and I speak. I've also received a couple emails from other citizens who have had similar experiences with the police. It doesn't appear to be an isolated case, but a system-wide breakdown in the police's ability to do their jobs. Are we on our own? Dan McGrath Longfellow http://www.shegstad.us REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
