5 things to know today: Officer sentenced, COVID-19 lawsuits, Policing laws, Conspiracy theorist, Judge guilty
1. Ex-Glyndon officer who shot at vehicle during chase avoids jail time
A former law enforcement officer who shot at a car during a police chase last summer in Clay County will avoid jail time.
Ex-Glyndon Police Officer Matthew James Tri, 36, was sentenced Thursday, April 22, to a year of unsupervised probation for a misdemeanor charge of recklessly handling or using a dangerous weapon. As part of a plea agreement, the more serious felony charge of intentionally discharging a firearm that endangered the safety of another was dismissed.
Read more from The Forum’s April Baumgarten
2. North Dakota governor signs bill to shield employers from COVID-19 lawsuits
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, left, signs a bill on Friday, April 23, that will protect employers from lawsuits by workers who caught the coronavirus while on the job. Secretary of State Al Jaeger, right, waits to attest the bill signing. Jeremy Turley / Forum News Service
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill into law on Friday, April 23, that will protect employers from lawsuits by workers who caught the coronavirus while on the job.
The Republican governor, a former tech executive, called House Bill 1175 “common sense liability protection” for employers who battled difficult economic conditions and coronavirus-induced uncertainty over the last year.
Read more from Forum News Service’s Jeremy Turley
3. Chauvin verdict galvanizes push to tighten policing laws; lawmakers enter final weeks to finish budget
Local residents Mileesha Smith, left, Michael Wilson and Alfonzo Williams embrace at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis Tuesday, April 20, 2021, after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty of the death of George Floyd. (REUTERS/Adrees Latif)
State representatives spent hours debating a public safety and policing law overhaul on Wednesday, April, 21, less than a day after the world’s eyes fixed on Minnesota as a jury handed down a guilty verdict for ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
While much of the state and nation’s attention this week was honed on the Chauvin trial, lawmakers continued pushing through budget bills that are set to move next to joint committees where big differences between the House and Senate are set to be ironed out.
Read more from Forum News Service’s Dana Ferguson
4. Minnesota county’s GOP event featured far-right conspiracy theorist
Screen capture from a YouTube post entitled “Trevor Loudon’s New Book: WHITE HOUSE REDS. LIVE in MINNESOTA, March 27, 2021. TRIUMPHAL RETURN!!!”
A dinner hosted by the Wabasha County Republican Party last month featured keynote speaker Trevor Loudon, a far-right conspiracy theorist who told the GOP faithful that more than a hundred members of Congress should be investigated for espionage, that the killing of George Floyd and the unrest that followed “was planned since 2016,” and suggested that voting machines were rigged in last year’s presidential election.
Read more from Forum News Service’s Matthew Stolle
5. Northeast ND municipal judge pleads guilty to Game and Fish violations
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A northeast North Dakota judge has pleaded guilty to helping illegally transport and dispose of a deer after his son shot and killed it without proper tags.
Scott Holmquist, a municipal judge in Cavalier, N.D., accepted a plea agreement on Monday, April 19, pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of contributing to the deprivation or delinquency of a minor and violation of protection of big game animals. A third misdemeanor charge, aiding in concealment of game unlawfully taken or possessed, was dismissed.
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