TROOPER FACES DRUG CHARGE

An off-duty Minnesota State Patrol trooper was charged with possessing
crack cocaine after Minneapolis police stopped his vehicle early Wednesday,
according to court documents filed by Hennepin County prosecutors.

Jeffrey Allen Carstens, 36, a seven-year veteran of the patrol, has been
charged with fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance, a felony,
according to court documents filed by prosecutors.

Carstens, who by his employers' accounts has an exemplary record, has been
placed on an "investigatory" leave with pay as the State Patrol conducts an
internal investigation.

"It's terribly devastating," said Col. Anne Beers, who heads the patrol.
"We in the State Patrol have never had someone charged with drug possession
... on or off duty. It's embarrassing."

Carstens was stopped shortly after 3:30 a.m. Wednesday on the city's North
Side. A Minneapolis police officer on patrol noticed a pickup parked in the
middle of the road at 31st Avenue North and Sixth Street North with its
hazard lights on, the driver's side door open and five or six men standing
around the driver, according to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin
County District Court. When the officer pulled up to the scene and shined a
spotlight at the car, the men scattered on foot.

The driver of the truck peeled out of the area, causing the driver's side
door to slam shut, according to the complaint. With the officer in pursuit,
the truck pulled over a block away. Carstens, who was driving and the only
occupant, raised his hands in the air and said, "I'll do anything you say.
My hands are up. I'll get out of the car if you want me to," the complaint
states.

As Carstens got out of the truck, a single rock of crack cocaine wrapped in
plastic fell from his lap and landed on the front floorboard, according to
the complaint.

A field test of the substance was positive for cocaine, and it weighed 0.2
grams, according to the complaint. Although Carstens was arrested and
booked into the Hennepin County Jail, it wasn't immediately clear at what
point he was taken into custody Wednesday. Carstens was free Wednesday
evening in lieu of $3,000 bail.

According to Beers, Carstens was cooperative when he was stopped.

"He identified himself as a state trooper, just as a matter of providing
identification. ... I don't think he was looking for special treatment,"
Beers said.

The stop came several hours before Carstens was to report for work as early
as 6 a.m., Beers said. The trooper, one of 470 assigned to the State
Patrol, is assigned to the west metro district, which includes the freeways
and highways of Minneapolis.

According to personnel records, Carstens doesn't have a disciplinary
"history," State Patrol officials said. In fact, he has received several
letters of commendation as well as a meritorious service award, which is
given to troopers who put their lives in danger to save another.

Carstens, of Minneapolis, could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.
But his supervisors said he had been interested in law enforcement at least
since high school.

"He had early contact with the State Patrol through an intern program
before he was hired," Beers said. He also was part of a high school cadet
program to get exposure to law enforcement. So he's had a history with the
State Patrol even before the selection process and the academy."

Beers said the patrol has a thorough selection process, including extensive
background checks, but sometimes drugs can creep into someone's life.

"Drugs have permeated society, and no one is insulated from it, and no
profession is insulated from it. Even with the highest standards with
selection, we're still a microcosm of society."

If convicted of the felony drug charge, Carstens would automatically lose
his peace officer's license, effectively costing him his job, the State
Patrol said.