ACLU vs. NCSO

The ACLU filed a civil lawsuit against the Nobles County Sheriffs Office and Sheriff Kent Wilkening in August 2018 on the grounds that Wilkening was refusing to release inmates who met state release requirements without a warrant or probable cause at the behest of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit on the basis that immigration is a federal concern, and Minnesota sheriffs have no authority to enforce immigration law. Only ICE agents can arrest someone on immigration law charges.

Additionally, immigration is a civil matter, not a criminal one, the ACLU said in court documents.

Following the initial filing, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a statement saying that Wilkening detaining inmates on ICE holds is an efficient way to transfer custody. The DOJ claimed that under the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Wilkenings actions were lawful.

While the case is being argued, Minnesota District Court issued a temporary restraining order requiring Wilkening to release inmates who have satisfied their release requirements. Wilkening and NCSO disputed this ruling in the Minnesota Court of Appeals, but the order was upheld.

The case is still active.

Mid-October saw the filing of a second suit, this time against the city of Worthington, the Worthington Police Department, Worthington Director of Public Safety Troy Appel, Officer Mark Riley and ride-along Evan Eggers regarding an incident in January in which law enforcement allegedly used excessive force during an arrest.

The ACLU complaint claims that plaintiff Kelvin Rodriguez of Sheldon, Iowa was driving through downtown Worthington when he spotted a police car. Seeing the vehicle made Rodriguez fearful because he understood Worthington to be a difficult place to be a person of color, the suit said, so he pulled into the Scholtes Auto World parking lot and fled on foot.

Seeing Rodriguez running, Riley and Eggers chased after him in the squad car. Dashcam footage shows Eggers and Riley get out of vehicle and chase Rodriguez behind a row of cars, where all that is visible is Rodriguez approaching the men with his hands up, then getting on the ground. After that, the video is obscured.

In the complaint, Rodriguez says that Eggers got to him first, kicking him in the back and holding his arm. When Riley arrived, the complaint says he put all of his weight on Rodriguez by kneeling on his back.

Rodriguez passed a breathalyzer test and was taken to jail because he ran from the police. Before transporting Rodriguez to Nobles County Jail, though, Riley learned that there had been an assault at The Tap earlier that evening, and one of the suspects had fled the scene.

The victim and a witness identified Rodriguez as the suspect, although Rodriguez claimed he had been driving a co-worker home from work. He accounted for his swollen left hand by saying he worked with knives at JBS.

A week after the lawsuit with the ACLU was filed, Rodriguez was convicted of disorderly conduct for the bar incident, for which he received a 90-day jail sentence that was stayed in favor of six months of probation and a $300 fine.

The ACLU suit claims that although Rodriguez was ultimately convicted, at the time that Riley and Eggers encountered him, they had no reason to suspect Rodriguez of a crime.

The lawsuit alleges that during Rodriguezs arrest, he made repeated requests for medical care, which were ignored for nearly an hour. When he finally did get medical attention, Rodriguez discovered he had four broken ribs that had pierced his liver and pancreas, a partially collapsed lung and internal bleeding. He spent five days in intensive care and amassed about $150,000 in medical expenses.

The ACLU is also concerned that Eggers, a civilian, acted as a police officer, and Riley made no attempt to subdue him.

Following Rodriguezs conviction, the police report from his arrest became publicly available. Riley said he couldnt see what was happening, either, but thought he heard Rodriguez slip and fall on the ice.

Eggers was not interviewed until five days later, at which time he corroborated Rileys claim that Rodriguez slipped on the ice.

The new information did not change the ACLUs position. An amended complaint states that the claim that Rodriguez slipped and fell on ice implies that that was the cause of his injuries. Both the ACLU and Rodriguez maintain that his injuries occurred as a result of the actions of Eggers and Riley. They assert that the dash cam footage clearly refutes the defendants claim.

The ACLUs desired outcome is a jury trial to seek both financial compensation and a declaration that the Worthington Police Department violated Rodriguezs Fourth Amendment rights.

The defendants deny each accusation in the complaint.

The matter will be settled in a five-day jury trial scheduled to begin April 20 unless the parties are otherwise able to come to an agreement.

The ACLU of Minnesota listed its Top 10 Victories of 2019 over the weekend. The Court of Appeals ruling in respect to the Nobles County case and the beginning of the suit against WPD were numbers five and six, respectively, on the list.

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Worthington law enforcement continued to face litigation in 2019 | The Globe - The Globe