Noem Releases Attorney General’s Report on Minnehaha State’s Attorney
PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem today released the summary of Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s investigation into Minnehaha State’s Attorney Aaron McGowan.
“Recent events involving Minnehaha State’s Attorney Aaron McGowan necessitated an investigation by our Attorney General,” said Noem. “That investigation is now complete, and I am making the summary provided to me available to the public for the sake of transparency. The facts that were uncovered are unsettling. The Attorney General concludes that there isn’t the evidence to pursue charges against McGowan. I will not be pursuing any further action at this time. I am thankful for the Attorney General and his team’s swift work on this matter.”
The Attorney General’s full report can be downloaded here.
McGowan Investigation Report by Pat Powers on Scribd
###
The attorney generals report looks pretty solid & comprehensive to me
Well it does not look like McGowan committed a crime it looks like there’s a lot of unprofessional & inappropriate activities happening in the SA office
Wow. That’s worse then I would have thought.
I am not sure what purpose is served by releasing the AG’s report. Couldn’t the governors office resolve this situation without trashing this gentleman’s privacy and and ruining his career. I thought that alcoholism is considered a disease.
It wasn’t just alcohol related. Did you read it? He should resign his position.
Um, what about the privacy of the female employee who’s house he invited himself over to drink at?
As I wrote in another post, this is the stuff that people would go on the record about. This is a train wreck.
The Gov’s office was very palms up on the report, which was demanded by the fact it involved a public official. It’s not pretty, but it isn’t being swept under the rug.
So I guess some in the media owe the SFPD an apology huh? How quick they were to accuse them of impropriety and now we should expect nothing but their silence. Typical.
That’s a good point. After reading the report, I have 3 comments. First, the Attorney General’s office seems to have done a thorough, professional job investigating and evaluating this case. Second, it looks as though the SFPD acted squarely within its discretion. That I (personally) might have made a different choice isn’t relevant. I wasn’t there, on the scene. In 2019, with decent cops beset nationwide, our police need strong public support. Backing the blue involves trusting cops to do their job, NOT second-guessing and nitpicking every little quibble. Naturally, in egregious cases — gross negligence, malfeasance, and corruption – law enforcement officers deserve public condemnation and severe punishment. But we shouldn’t focus microscopically on each petty incident. Cops face hard decisions nightly. Life and death hang in the balance. Police need the freedom to operate – relying on training, experience, and discernment to make smart, ethical decisions. Note that I didn’t say “perfect.” We can’t ask perfection. No mortal man is perfect. It’s a tough, dangerous job cops do. I’m incredibly glad they’re out there, week after week, keeping families safe. So I deplore the backseat drivers & Monday morning quarterbacks. In this matter, the PD exercised reasonable discretion; the department’s actions comport with SD law.
Last, for his own health, I’d like Aaron to step away & get sober. But it’s not my job to evaluate whether he should be removed. I’m just a voter. If it were my call, I’d need to see that infamous text message — the one precipitating the neighbor’s 911 call. IMHO, if the 911 call was an overreaction to some booze-addled barroom joke, that’s one thing. If, on the other hand, our State’s Attorney was texting folks photos of himself with a 12-gauge shotgun jammed into his mouth, that’s different.