Courts dismiss more cases involving former police officer

The Carlton County Attorney’s office recently dismissed seven more criminal cases involving former Cloquet police officer Scott Beckman.

The court actions bring the total number of cases dismissed because of Beckman to 26, including 18 that were dismissed pre-conviction last year, one Feb. 8 dismissal that resulted in a man imprisoned for second-degree assault being set free and now seven more post-conviction dismissals (along with four criminal cases in which no charges were ever filed).

All of the cases were dismissed as a consequence of dishonest behavior by Beckman, who was disciplined after lying on a search warrant application in February 2016, when he included information he had previously discovered to be untrue while under oath.

Such behavior falls under the purview of two different Supreme Court cases — Brady v. Maryland and Giglio v. United States — which requires prosecuting attorneys to disclose any material that could help exonerate a defendant of guilt, specifically including misconduct findings involving law enforcement officers or information that would impeach the character or testimony of a witness.

County attorney Lauri Ketola told the Pine Knot News that she believes the seven cases will be the last ones dismissed as part of the county’s review of cases involving Beckman since he lied on the February 2016 search warrant application. Charges vacated in the most recent cases ranged from a felony domestic assault conviction to gross misdemeanor charges of giving a false name to a police officer or possessing drug paraphernalia. All charges will be expunged from the criminal record of each defendant.

Sixth District Chief Public Defender Daniel Lew is listed as the lead attorney on each of the most recently dismissed cases.

Lew has been very supportive of the actions taken by the Carlton County Attorney’s office since December, when the office first implemented a Brady policy under the leadership of Assistant County Attorney Jeffrey Boucher and publicly revealed the first 18 dismissals involving Beckman. Since Ketola took office in January, the office hired a consulting attorney with expertise in Brady/Giglio issues to help them conduct integrity reviews of every case in which Beckman was a significant witness.

“The Carlton County Attorney has taken significant first steps to restore trust and confidence by disclosing Mr. Beckman’s misconduct, dismissing cases prosecuted by the office and to begin the healing process,” Lew said.

At the same time, Lew has been critical of the fact that the County Attorney’s office did not disclose Beckman’s disciplinary files until August 2018, noting that the Constitution requires “speedy disclosure.”

According to documents obtained by the Pine Knot News, former Cloquet police chief Steve Stracek sent a letter to Carlton County Attorney Thom Pertler informing him of the investigation into Beckman’s misconduct and specifically referring to the Brady/Giglio requirements for disclosure on March 2, 2017.

However, Lew thinks the disclosure should have come years before.

“It is unprecedented for there to be numerous acts of law enforcement violation of rules, unbecoming conduct and immoral conduct to not be shared as required by the Constitution over a significant period of time. Mr. Beckman’s conduct began in 2012 and concluded in 2016,” Lew told the Pine Knot News, referring to the fact that Beckman was also disciplined in 2012.

In that case the off-duty Cloquet police officer didn’t stop after being rear-ended following a concert at Fortune Bay Casino, and told two different stories to two different officers who contacted him after the accident. He ultimately pleaded guilty to a criminal case in St. Louis County and then was investigated internally by the Cloquet police department and disciplined.

The chief public defender had a number of suggestions for future action.

Lew suggested first that the Cloquet City Attorney’s office review all misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases from Beckman, “recognizing that many lower level misdemeanor cases where Mr. Beckman was an essential witness will long linger on a citizen’s criminal record leading to a lifetime of consequences: limiting or loss of employment and housing; student loans and professional licensing.”

Second, Lew said, any citizen charged with a crime who had contact with Beckman be offered an opportunity to contact the prosecuting attorneys for an “integrity review” by an independent party.

Third, Lew said there should be a final report to the community after the process is complete.