Harry's Gang: Lawsuits are the American way

I’ve always liked Scott Holman, the former Cloquet detective who is now suing the city and others after being fired from the police department. I mentioned to former mayor Dave Hallbeck the other day that Scott and I have always had a healthy fear of each other. That made the mayor laugh, probably because he knew exactly what I meant: Sgt. Holman could be an intimidating figure, but I think he respected the different perspective I had on the issues. At least, I hope he did.

Officer Holman ran for mayor years ago when Cloquet was debating design standards, police dogs and sales tax. He didn’t make it past the primary, and incumbent Bruce Ahlgren won re-election easily, but Holman’s courage to run was consistent with his style: a sense of confidence based on his police training and his view of right and wrong.

Holman’s work with the drug-sniffing police dog Tessa was almost legendary, and his controversial work was eventually addressed by the Minnesota Supreme Court. Holman’s perspective was not shared by the Supreme Court — which ruled that you can’t have your police dog run around a stopped car sniffing for drugs unless you have a valid reason for believing there may be drugs in the vehicle — but that barely deterred Holman’s mission in pursuing law enforcement. He just shifted gears.

Not everyone always agreed with Holman’s approach, including me. I felt he was too singular, sometimes, in thinking that the ends justify the means. At the same time, I assure you that cops do a job most of us don’t want to do. It takes a certain type of person to be a cop, and I don’t have it. Holman does.

That helps explain why Holman is now suing the City of Cloquet, Carlton County, and two individuals who were part of the firing process. Holman has filed a federal lawsuit alleging his civil rights were violated when he lost his job.

The lawsuit reads like a torrid novel. It seems to have been designed to titillate rather than spell out definite legal actions. Phrases like “personal vendetta,” “manipulation of the media,” “obvious bias” and “obviously” are sprinkled liberally throughout the lawsuit. (A law professor told me that as a judge, seeing the word “obviously” in a pleading usually meant it wasn’t obvious at all). Some claims are made based on pure conjecture, as if its colorful writing would bolster the legal claims. In case you didn’t know, it doesn’t.

The lawsuit also oddly claims that both individuals in the suit, Carlton County Attorney Lauri Ketola and Cloquet City Councilor Kerry Kolodge, should have recused themselves from voting on Holman’s status because they had a conflict of interest. What was the conflict? Gleaning from the lawsuit, it seems Holman is claiming the conflict is that some of the conduct that got him fired was directed at them. That’s not a conflict.

Even the claim for damages seems designed to shock and awe. Asking for $4 million, which is an absurd amount of money, sounds as if Holman seeks that amount as a “starting point” for negotiations rather than any real basis in fact. Holman’s entire lawsuit seems based on personal beefs, which is ironically a large part of his claim against the defendants.

Additionally, the lawsuit — which was forwarded to this paper and other Duluth-area media before all the parties had even been served — was probably designed to influence public opinion. Which, again, has little bearing on the legal claims.

Due process is a core American value. Sometimes it’s hard to accept that our Constitution gives rights that, occasionally, we don’t feel are appropriate. But our system depends on the ability for citizens to exercise their rights, even when many feel they shouldn’t. Even in Holman’s case.

So, I respect the legal process and support Holman’s right to pursue legal action. America is a system of laws, and those laws apply to everyone. It’s what’s made our country great, and circumvention of the law is what will destroy us.

So, when Sgt. Holman seeks clarity of his dispute within the Courts, whether you agree with him or not, he is exercising a critical right afforded to all citizens.

That’s what the courts are for.

Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News community newspaper and an attorney in Esko who hosts the cable access talk show Harry’s Gang on CAT-7. His opinions are his own. Contact him at [email protected].