Gov. Pawlenty calls for reconstituted gang strike force
Gov. Tim Pawlenty today (Aug. 26) called the now defunct Metro Gang Strike Force “a mess,” saying the strike force, created by the Legislature in 2005, had lacked proper oversight.
And there’s more, explained Pawlenty, speaking at a Capitol press conference.
“The people involved also just didn’t use common sense,” said Pawlenty. “There isn’t some big mystery around cops not taking stuff home and using it for personal use,” he said.
Still, Pawlenty said fighting gangs is important and called for a strike force to be reconstituted.
A joint House/Senate committee today held a hearing on the metro strike force, ultimately disbanded by Public Safety Commissioner Michael Campion after allegations of mismanagement arose in an audit conducted by the legislative auditor.
Besides calling in the FBI to investigate, Campion also hired independent investigators to investigate the strike force.
Attorney Andy Luger, one of the two investigators, appeared before the joint committee, saying something had gone terribly wrong with the metro gang strike force.
Indeed, Luger described the picture arising from the review of some 300 strike force case files — more than 5,000 exist — being one of “egregious misconduct.”
He indicated the number of strike officers involved in questionable behavior — many officers would not talk to them, he noted — at perhaps ten.
Although the review did not turn up an example of an officer pocketing confiscated money, Luger explained, officers took home confiscated property, such as televisions, computers, ice augers, for personal use.
Other confiscated items, such as confiscated jewerly, are missing, he said.
Relevant information on individual cases was scanty or missing, Luger charged.
He was surprised to find the irregularities that their review uncovered in the task force existing in any law enforcement agency in Minnesota.
“When there’s a breakdown like this everyone bears some responsibility,” said Campion, not sparing his own department.
It’s a sad day for Minnesota law enforcement, he said.
In committee discussions, it was suggested that strike force officers looked to the dollars that could be gained from forfeitured property confiscated in strike force police actions as a means of funding the force.
“We should not try to reconstitute the Metro Gang Strike Force,” said Campion.
But Campion added that other strike forces in Minnesota have shown transparency and professionalism.
Only one strike force had its own evidence room, and that was well regulated, Campion said.
