cannabisnews.com: Investigation Looks How Incident Was Handled Investigation Looks How Incident Was Handled Posted by FoM on November 16, 1999 at 08:48:34 PT Associated Press Source: Star Tribune The Dakota County sheriff will investigate whether the 21-year-old son of Sen. Rod Grams received preferential treatment from Anoka County sheriff' s deputies, and the Washington County attorney will review the case. Anoka County Attorney Robert Johnson requested the outside inquiry Monday in response to a report Sunday in the Star Tribune of Minneapolis about the way Morgan Grams was treated when deputies found marijuana in his vehicle in July. Meanwhile, the state Republican chairman called the story " a politically motivated attack" by the Star Tribune to defeat Grams, who faces re-election next year. The newspaper' s editor denied the charge. The Star Tribune reported that Morgan Grams, while driving a rental car July 14, was stopped by Anoka County Chief Deputy Peter Beberg. Another deputy found a bag of marijuana under the driver' s seat, but no one questioned Morgan Grams about it even though he was on probation and had no driver' s license. Beberg, who drove Morgan Grams home, said he didn' t know about the marijuana. A 17-year-old boy in the vehicle was arrested and charged with a felony after nine bags of marijuana were found on him. Sen. Grams had called Sheriff Larry Podany that day asking him to check on Morgan Grams, who was driving an overdue rental vehicle. Podany asked Beberg to handle the matter. Podany, who has expressed support for Beberg' s actions, released a statement Monday: " I want to assure the community that I and my office do not condone or believe in the preferential treatment of any person. This referral is made to ensure that the public maintains its trust in the integrity of law enforcement." Johnson said public perception of the July incident " demands outside review" to assure the inquiry is handled fairly. The father of the juvenile who was arrested and convicted of drug possession in the car Morgan Grams was driving believes the senator clearly received preferential treatment. " The fact that Rod Grams could have his son chased down and I couldn' t shows there' s a double standard, " said Tom Wichman of Oak Grove. When he called the Anoka County Sheriff' s Office earlier this year to report his son missing, he said he was told that it was a domestic matter and that the deputies wouldn' t help him. Wichman welcomed the follow-up investigation because his son disputes some of the statements made by deputies. For instance, he said, a deputy reported that he did not smell alcohol on the breath of Grams or his passengers, but Wichman' s son said they had been drinking beer shortly before their car was stopped. Ron Eibensteiner, state Republican Party chairman, called the Grams story " a politically motivated attack by the Star and Tribune. They want to defeat Senator Grams, and they will use whatever methods they can to accomplish this task. This is a continuation of personal attacks against conservatives and Republicans by the Star and Tribune." Star Tribune Editor Tim J. McGuire responded: " I find it hard to believe the GOP chairman believes the way the Anoka County Sheriff' s Department handled this case doesn' t raise serious questions. Certainly the Anoka County prosecutor' s decision to ask for an outside investigation is proof that some people understand that serious questions need to be answered." One of Sen. Grams' DFL challengers, former U.S. Attorney David Lillehaug, said Grams should answer questions about his role in the affair. " It' s important that the facts come out, " Lillehaug said. " If they don' t, it undermines public confidence in the concept of equal justice under the law." As a former prosecutor, Lillehaug said he' s certain that if police had stopped a young man under similar conditions in a poor Twin Cities neighborhood with large minority populations all of the car' s occupants would have been arrested and interrogated. Copyright 1999 Associated Press. Published Tuesday, November 16, 1999 © Copyright 1999. All rights reserved. Related Article:Experts Question Police Treatment Of Grams' Son - 11/14/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3669.shtmlSenator's Son Had Drugs In Car But Wasn't Charged-11/14/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3667.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #1 posted by Mike Cuddy on November 16, 1999 at 10:26:41 PT: Bwa Bwa, I'm ugly [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: