AG done with review of Minnehaha Co State’s Atty’s absence.

Pat Powers

The Argus is reporting tonight that the Attorney General’s office has finished their review of the absence of Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Aaron McGowan from office over this summer:

South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg told the Argus Leader in August that his office was looking into how the Sioux Falls Police Department handled the incident. His office has the authority to investigate official misconduct.

On Monday, Ravnsborg’s chief of staff said there is no investigation into Sioux Falls Police or the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Read it here.

It sounds as if the police call was handled within policy and procedure.. which given the continuing secrecy in the matter, gives rise to questions as to what procedures should be when police calls involve public officials.

11 thoughts on “AG done with review of Minnehaha Co State’s Atty’s absence.”

  1. Maybe the policy is to treat everyone the same and to follow state law. Isn’t that what South Dakotans should expect?

    1. Federal law, too. If he took 8 or 9 weeks off for a health problem, it’s ok: he is allowed 12 under the FMLA.
      And HIPAA guarantees his privacy.

      1. Are sure about that, Anne? Maybe you could provide some facts? Somebody else posted this information and it does not support what you say to be the truth…

        As a [federal} statute, HIPAA cover the activities of

        #1. “health insurance companies” = BCBS, Dakotacare

        #2. “health care providers”= doctors, nurses, dentists, hospitals, psychologists, pharmacists, clinics

        #3. “health care information clearinghouses” = companies that store or destroy health records from covered entities #1 and #2

        Obviously, neither the police nor the company that maintains 911 communications fall under any of those categories.

        There are no HIPAA implications if the police or the dispatchers or the 911 communication storage company release any of the information gathered (even “medical information”) since those entities are not subject to the HIPAA rules.

        See, HIPAA governs certain ENTITIES, not whether the info is of a medical nature or not.

        1. HIPAA gets murky with privacy issues and emergency services. While critical health information is allowed to be shared by dispatchers with police or paramedics responding to a call, it is understood that it is not to be shared beyond that.
          While the statute doesn’t expressly prohibit those same first responders from blabbing everything they witnessed during a call, they know they shouldn’t do it.

  2. Exactly Anne. If we continue to treat public officials like second class citizens, we will have public servants stupid like AOC and Theresa Stehly.

    1. Not only that, Troy, but if people thought their family’s mental health crises would be published in the police log, instead of calling 911 they might try to transport an unstable person to a hospital themselves. Nobody should promote policies which would discourage people from calling 911 if they really need assistance,
      Additionally, when you call 911 and request an ambulance, if a police officer can get there sooner, the dispatcher sends one. It’s a medical call but the police show up too. The objective is to get a first responder to the scene as fast as possible, and the cops all know how to do CPR.

  3. as an elected official who oversees polices and lawyers this dude should come clean and explain why the cops raided his house. there are lots of stories

    2. I don’t know that there’s any information there was a “raid,” which has a connotation about it, but definitely there’s a veil of secrecy that surrounds this whole matter.

  4. The entire medical industry depends on getting good patient information and getting such information depends on the promise it is confidential. It ludicrous to think there are official “loopholes” where such confidentiality is non-existent without great big warning lights “You are about to enter a no-confidentiality zone.”

    A very quick search brought up this nugget from the SD Department of Health. I’d not be surprised there are similar requirements for other first responders.

    “EMS agencies and personnel must follow HIPAA regulations during patient care situations, when transporting patient information and for administrative function. EMS agencies must follow HIPAA rules in retaining, managing & releasing patient information/ records.”

    https://doh.sd.gov/documents/EMS/STEMS-HIPAA.pdf

  5. Everyone’s going to feel pretty dumb for demanding answers on what’s likely to come out as a medical issue.

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