Trial set for former Cloquet police officer

A case alleging that a former Cloquet police officer exploited an elderly woman suffering from dementia is headed to court in November.

The Minnesota Attorney General’s office charged Laci Marie Silgjord in July 2023 with financially exploiting a vulnerable adult — someone she befriended after responding to a call — and attempting to swindle the woman’s estate and her estranged husband after she died. Silgjord was dismissed from her job at the Cloquet police department in February 2022, after the Cloquet PD did its own internal investigation of her involvement with the now-deceased woman.

On April 19, Sixth District Carlton County Judge Amy Lukasavitz denied motions to dismiss the case, and to change the venue in an order and memorandum. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Oct. 9, with the jury trial to begin Nov. 12.

Silgjord now resides in Sartell, Minnesota, where her husband, Brandon Silgjord, is police chief.

If found guilty of felony financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, Silgjord could be sentenced up to 20 years and/or payment of a fine no more than $100,000.

To find out more background on this case, search for “Silgjord” at http://www.pineknot news.com.