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Treptow Case Update
For those of you who have been following the Treptow case, there's been some developments. Sort of. (Short form: the authorities are applying another coat of whitewash, moving slower than molasses during a Minnetonka winter; you can skip the rest.)

Firstly, finally, a newspaper has named the supposedly "on duty" undercover police officer involved in the road rage incident that left him lightly wounded and the Treptow family -- Martin S. Treptow; his wife, Rebecca; and their two small children -- fleeing in terror as they frantically called 911. His name is Landen Beard, and his police chief, Wayne Shellum, says that he remains on the PD as an undercover officer on a "limited status." (Perhaps his limited undercover status consists largely donning the clever disguise at right while investigating whether or not the coffee pot in the break room is entirely fresh.)

Probably the most interesting thing in it is how increasingly lame Shellum comes off:

Shellum said he wasn't aware of the decision to go to a grand jury until the Pioneer Press told him Tuesday.

Ah. The Sergeant Schultz defense. "I see nozzing . . . "

He has declined to publicly release Beard's name, citing state laws intended to protect undercover officers' safety.

Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that conversation.

"What benefit to society would there be to name him?" Shellum said, adding that Beard has never been disciplined by the department.

An interesting admission, that. Maybe if they'd done a better job with him, this never would have happened.

As to what benefit? Generally, when a perp is on the loose, it's a good idea for society to be aware of his description so that folks can avoid him.

"He's never had anything in his jacket.

Or, oh, never mind; I'll skip the cheap shot.

"His job evaluations have been clearly above average to very good. We've chosen to keep him in the undercover status because of pending narcotics cases. He's undercover, and I don't want to blow that."

In the next paragraph, Dave Orrick at the Pioneer Press drily remarks [emphasis mine]:

Beard's identity as a Twin Cities-area detective has been available on the Internet since the shooting, and it remained there Tuesday.

Oops.

(As an aside, I've been carefully not naming Landen Beard, out of an excess of caution -- it's quite not entirely impossible that Robbinsdale PD has been gormless enough to keep the poor guy in an undercover role, not caring how totally his cover was blown -- until his name was made public, and I'm not aware of it happening on the Internet or elsewhere, up until the Pioneer Press rang that bell.)

(Just as another side issue, note the clear inferiority of the Star Tribune story. You'd think that Jim Adams, the reporter there, hasn't even perused the 911 transcripts, even though they've been available for -- literally -- months. Hell, even KSTP had them in June. It's hard to understand why a reporter covering a shooting wouldn't even pick up a phone and ask for those. Sheesh. I dunno; I have this theory that reporters covering a story should actually, well, cover the story. I guess it would be excusable if Adams was some sort of high school reporter wannabe -- but he isn't; he's been at the Strib for quite some time, and has shown that he can do real reporting. Why is he dropping the ball on this? I dunno. )

Less importantly, the Anoka County Attorney's office has finally admitted that they're convening a grand jury ~~to do nothing and make this all go away~~ to "weigh evidence against" both Beard and Treptow. As those who have followed this livejournal know, that decision was made quite literally months ago, but the Pioneer Press story admits that the grand jury isn't even going to be convened until December . . . six months after the event.

Whatever can be said about the Anoka County Attorney's office -- and I think, in this case, that's rather a lot, and none of it terribly flattering -- they're certainly not engaging in a rush to judgment.

Tectonic plates move faster than Robert M.A. Johnson's office has on this -- and, unshockingly, they don't have a reputation for slothlike slow-motion in other criminal cases. Paul Young, the assistant county attorney assigned ~~to make this embarrassment go away by further dithering for at least two more months~~ to prosecute this case, should he find that he can persuade the grand jury that there is probable cause, does not have a reputation for requiring time-lapse photography to see him move.

Other news? Finally, after quite literally months of no contact with law enforcement -- not so much as a single telephone call from Dave Westberg, the Coon Rapids detective who ~~claimed to be~~ no doubt was intensively investigating this back in June, nor one from the Anoka County sheriff's office, nor the Anoka County Attorney's office, nor anybody else in law enforcement -- Rebecca and Martin Treptow have been informed that they'll be called to testify in front of the grand jury.

Hmmm... the police officer in charged of investigating it doesn't call for, literally, months; the County Attorney's office doesn't even convene its grand jury for, literally, months; various law public officials charged with releasing information delay, and delay, and delay....

You know, a guy could get a little suspicious here.

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