Dakota County to look in to Minneapolis police chief case

To avoid a conflict of interest, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has referred allegations against Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan to Dakota County officials to investigate, the Star Tribune reports.

The police union and Sgt. Charles Adams allege that Dolan violated the state’s data practices act, which is a criminal misdemeanor, by speaking publicly about a personnel matter. A few months ago the union and Adams filed a related defamation lawsuit against the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and Chief Dolan. (Adams is also one of five black police officers who jointly filed a discrimination suit against the MPD and its head). Separately, the union’s attorney had asked the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office for an investigation into the data practices allegations.

Dakota County will also look into complaints that Dolan took advantage of the MPD’s kennel by using it to shelter his family dog.