cannabisnews.com: Would Others Really Get The Help Grams Did?





Would Others Really Get The Help Grams Did?
Posted by FoM on December 12, 1999 at 17:28:43 PT
By Doug Grow, Star Tribune
Source: Star Tribune
It's not as easy to get ahold of Hennepin County Sheriff Pat McGowan as recent news has led us to believe.On Friday, for example, I put in a call to the affable sheriff because I wanted to ask him some questions about the seek-and-chauffeur service his office apparently offers.
The existence of the service came as fallout from reports surrounding the efforts of Sen. Rod Grams to keep tabs on his troubled son, Morgan. In early Star Tribue reports, we learned that the Anoka County Sheriff's Office offers a special-delivery service.When Anoka County Sheriff Larry Podany was called by Grams, who was looking for his son, the sheriff responded by assigning a chief deputy to the job. Morgan was found, then driven home -- and one of his pals was busted for marijuana possession in the process.It turns out that on another occasion Grams had called McGowan for help in locating Morgan. Like Podany, McGowan assigned people to find Morgan, and when he was found (in Anoka County), he requested, and was given, a ride to another Anoka County location.Without blushing, Podany and McGowan say the service the senator and his son received was no different from the service anybody else gets. The two sheriffs talked as if they just waited by the phone to accept calls from senators and everyday citizens alike. Which is why I thought it would be easy to reach McGowan.At Podany's request, the Anoka County Sheriff's Office was investigated by the Dakota County Sheriff's Office for its behavior in the Grams case. The investigation found that Grams sought no special favors, stating in a report released Friday that "all citizens have a right to equal access to service." The report also says that the Anoka County Sheriff's Office did not appear to be doing special favors for Grams by looking for his son (hey, that's what it says), but it makes clear that the treatment of Morgan Grams was badly botched. He should have been detained, not driven home. (As a result of the investigation, Morgan Grams faces charges of misdemeanor marijuana possession and driving without carrying a license, and the Anoka County sheriff's chief deputy who handled the case has resigned.)I wanted to talk to McGowan about whether his office should be reviewed by an outside agency on the difficult issue of special treatment. But McGowan wasn't available, at least on this subject."He'll talk to you about anything but that," said Roseann Campagnoli, the sheriff's spokeswoman. "He says he's up to his eyeballs with that and doesn't want to talk about it anymore."Too bad. McGowan needs to answer a lot of questions about equal treatment.Last week, Star Tribune reporter Randy Furst was told that McGowan wouldn't give details about about other prominent officials who have called him for help because the information was private, not criminal. McGowan also said that "any other citizen" would have received the same treatment as Grams.Is that possible? Can everyday citizens really reach McGowan? Are there Hennepin County deputies buzzing throughout the metropolitan area -- into Anoka County or Dakota and Washington counties -- just checking up on a variety of Smiths, Joneses and Johnsons?It would be helpful if Hennepin County commissioners would ask the questions. But -- surprise, surprise -- commissioners are showing little will to step into this debate, which is about ethics, not legalities. To date, commissioners are saying that because the sheriff is an elected official, the board has no oversight -- that they have control only over the sheriff's budget, not his office procedures.It appears, then, that much of this is going to end up swept under a rug. We're going to be expected to believe that our calls to the sheriff will be treated no differently from the calls of a U.S. senator or a corporate president.We won't believe it, of course. Instead, we'll all become a little more cynical.Marc Asch of Common Cause Minnesota said these are difficult issues. Rod Grams the parent certainly should be able to make the same calls any other parent makes. But Grams the senator doesn't have to browbeat to get special attention. His name and his title open the doors."The problem is always the response," Asch said. "The central issue is that people have the right to expect that their elected officials, and particularly those with law-enforcement responsibility, treat everybody equally."The pressures to do little favors are constant.Tony Bouza, the former Minneapolis police chief, said calls from people in positions of power and influence come with the job of those who run law-enforcement agencies."The existence of those calls is not the issue," Bouza said. "It's how you respond to the calls that's the issue. You're always getting calls: 'Hey, can you give me a little help?' The pressure is there. But you can't allow yourself to feel the pressure. The whole point of public service is to treat all people equally."Isn't it difficult to turn down the requests of powerful people?"You have to be able to say no," Bouza said. "But there are entirely too many people saying yes."For the moment, the usually loquacious McGowan is saying nothing at all.Published: December 12, 1999© Copyright 1999 Star Tribune. Related Articles:Bungling Grams Case Erodes Public Trust - 12/12/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3974.shtmlAnoka Deputy Resigns; Grams' Son to Face Charges-12/10/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3957.shtmlSenator's Son To Face Misdemeanor Charges - 12/10/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3954.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on December 13, 1999 at 15:25:15 PT
What did I tell you? It happens all the time.
But the writer, and by extension, all of us, should be more than 'a little cynical' at this gross example of favoritism. As the old saying goes, "money talks, justice walks". Time we started talking a little louder, in the only way these scum understand...and the voting booth.
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