cannabisnews.com: Anoka Deputy Resigns; Grams' Son to Face Charges





Anoka Deputy Resigns; Grams' Son to Face Charges
Posted by FoM on December 10, 1999 at 16:49:02 PT
Jim Adams, Dane Smith & Patricia Lopez Baden 
Source: Star Tribune
Anoka County Chief Deputy Sheriff Peter Beberg resigned Friday shortly after outside investigators found his handling of Morgan Grams' traffic stop last summer was "incompetent."
At an afternoon news conference after a report on the investigation was released, Anoka County Sheriff Larry Podany announced the resignation of his chief deputy, who had stopped but not arrested Morgan Grams, son of Sen. Rod Grams, R-Minn.Beberg, who has been chief deputy for five years and who was with the Coon Rapids Police Department for 25 years before that, will retire, Podany said. Beberg, who is also Anoka's mayor, was not immediately available to comment.The review, by Dakota County investigators, said Beberg and his deputies had serious communication problems because Beberg said that he was unaware a bag of marijuana was found under Morgan Grams' seat or that a civilian volunteer found an open beer can in the vehicle. "Except for having probable cause for the stop, I am not sure anything was done correctly," Gudmundson said at a news conference.Beberg was told to find Morgan Grams, 21, on July 14. Sen. Grams had telephoned Podany and asked him to find Morgan Grams. Dakota Sheriff Don Gudmundson said his investigators found no evidence that Podany asked his chief deputy to give any favor or special consideration to the senator or his son.The report, released at a news conference at the Washington County Government Center, also found no evidence that the senator "asked for any special favors or special consideration." The senator has said he was only concerned for his son's well-being. Gudmundson was asked by Anoka County officials to review the case and present his findings to Washington County Attorney Doug Johnson. Morgan Grams will be charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession and driving without a drivers license as a result of the outside review of the traffic stop in East Bethel, officials said.About the stop The report said Anoka County deputies failed to communicate adequately and to follow standard police procedures when they stopped the overdue rental vehicle driven by Morgan Grams last July and found marijuana and beer inside.A 17-year-old boy who was riding in the vehicle was arrested and later convicted of felony marijuana possession after deputies found nine bags of marijuana on him. One bag of marijuana was found under Morgan Grams' seat, but neither he nor another 17-year-old passenger were arrested.But the report said Morgan Grams should have been detained at the traffic stop on Hwy. 65 near 205th St. and driven to a patrol station for questioning. The report also noted that Morgan Grams, who didn't have his drivers license with him, flashed his expired Senate identification pass when Beberg stopped him. The report said investigators were unable "to rule out the possibility that he presented it as a means of gaining privilege from an officer."The report found several problems with the way Beberg and other deputies handled the stop: Once deputies found the nine bags of marijuana on the 17-year-old juvenile, the other occupants of the vehicle should have been taken into custody. Only one juvenile was arrested. A reserve officer found a can of beer in Morgan Grams' sport utility vehicle and dumped it on the ground. The reserve officer, who is a civilian with no police authority, shouldn't have been searching the vehicle. Deputies should have preserved the open can.  A citation should have been issued to Morgan Grams for permitting an open bottle of beer. That can't be done now because of a lack of evidence. The fact that the open can wasn't mentioned by the reserve officer to Beberg or other deputies was the beginning of "a serious problem with communication" among the officers.  The bag of marijuana found under Morgan Grams' seat showed constructive possession of marijuana by him, and the deputy who found it never filed a report on it. Morgan Grams later admitted to Dakota County investigators that the bag of marijuana was his.  Morgan Grams and the two juveniles should have been tested for sobriety because of the beer and marijuana found in the vehicle. Because deputies found the marijuana under the drivers seat, the vehicle should have been towed and impounded. The report also said that when the man who loaned the car to Grams picked it up the next day, he found 20 empty beer cans and four full cans. Beberg had reported finding only unopened beer cans.In his report, the Dakota County sheriff said he wasn't troubled by the fact that Beberg gave Morgan Grams a ride to Plymouth in the front seat of Beberg's patrol vehicle. The report, while noting that Morgan Grams should have been arrested, also said that Beberg's unmarked vehicle had no screen between the back and front seats. That means the officer is better off having the person in the front where the person can be watched, the report said.The report also said earlier reports that Morgan Grams and Robert Hyman, the man who loaned him the vehicle, had worked together at Alamo Car Rental were erroneous. They worked together at another company, the the report said.'We will do better in the future' Podany said he was happy that the outside investigators found no evidence that there was intent to give Grams special treatment, but he admitted that his officers performed poorly."I am not pleased with our performance during this incident . . . We have done and continue to do outstanding work for the citizens of Anoka County each and every day. This is not how we do business. We will do better in the future," Podany said. He said he would conduct a comprehensive review of departmental procedures.Podany would not say whether any officers would be disciplined.Washington County Attorney Douglas Johnson said he will handle the filing of charges in Anoka County. He said they will be filed today.Published: December 10, 1999© Copyright 1999 Star Tribune.Related Articles & Web Site:Senator Grams Web Sitehttp://www.senate.gov/~grams/Senator's Son To Face Misdemeanor Charges - 12/10/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3954.shtmlCops Strayed From Procedure For Grams' Son - 12/09/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3936.shtmlSheriff Irritated That Grams Commented On Report - 12/09/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3932.shtmlGrams Relieved Report Shows No Favor Asked - 12/08/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3927.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by greenfox on December 11, 1999 at 08:16:43 PT
And a bag of chips..
"Selling skin, selling GOD, the numbers look the same on the credit cards...""Polliticians say 'don't do drugs', while we pay for wars in SOuth America...""Fighting fire, (with all you to burn), the banks get fat while the poor stay poor, and the rich get rich and the cops get paid to look away as the 1% rule everything.."-mindcrime, QUeensryche
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on December 10, 1999 at 17:18:25 PT
Cops get a slap on the wrist, kid gets his life
ruined. Par for the course. After all, if the officer had done his duty, he would have been investigated BY Grams. Damned if you do, and damned if you don't. But the officer can get another job; can the kid get another life? Can he escape the stigma of an arrest record? Can he hope for legitimate employment now that there is a dossier with a mug shot of him inside?All over something that God put on the earth. And Man, in his infinite arrogance, declares it illegal. Talk about chutzpah.
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