ANOKA DEPUTY RESIGNS; GRAMS' SON TO FACE CHARGES

Anoka County Chief Deputy Sheriff Peter Beberg resigned Friday shortly
after outside investigators found his handling of Morgan Grams' traffic
stop last summer was "incompetent."

At an afternoon news conference after a report on the investigation was
released, Anoka County Sheriff Larry Podany announced the resignation of
his chief deputy, who had stopped but not arrested Morgan Grams, son of
Sen. Rod Grams, R-Minn. Beberg, who has been chief deputy for five years
and who was with the Coon Rapids Police Department for 25 years before
that, will retire, Podany said. Beberg, who is also Anoka's mayor, was not
immediately available to comment.

The review, by Dakota County investigators, said Beberg and his deputies
had serious communication problems because Beberg said that he was unaware
a bag of marijuana was found under Morgan Grams' seat or that a civilian
volunteer found an open beer can in the vehicle.

"Except for having probable cause for the stop, I am not sure anything was
done correctly," Gudmundson said at a news conference.

Beberg was told to find Morgan Grams, 21, on July 14. Sen. Grams had
telephoned Podany and asked him to find Morgan Grams.

Dakota Sheriff Don Gudmundson said his investigators found no evidence that
Podany asked his chief deputy to give any favor or special consideration to
the senator or his son.

The report, released at a news conference at the Washington County
Government Center, also found no evidence that the senator "asked for any
special favors or special consideration." The senator has said he was only
concerned for his son's well-being.

Gudmundson was asked by Anoka County officials to review the case and
present his findings to Washington County Attorney Doug Johnson.

Morgan Grams will be charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession and
driving without a drivers license as a result of the outside review of the
traffic stop in East Bethel, officials said.

About The Stop

The report said Anoka County deputies failed to communicate adequately and
to follow standard police procedures when they stopped the overdue rental
vehicle driven by Morgan Grams last July and found marijuana and beer inside.

A 17-year-old boy who was riding in the vehicle was arrested and later
convicted of felony marijuana possession after deputies found nine bags of
marijuana on him. One bag of marijuana was found under Morgan Grams' seat,
but neither he nor another 17-year-old passenger were arrested.

But the report said Morgan Grams should have been detained at the traffic
stop on Hwy. 65 near 205th St. and driven to a patrol station for questioning.

The report also noted that Morgan Grams, who didn't have his drivers
license with him, flashed his expired Senate identification pass when
Beberg stopped him. The report said investigators were unable "to rule out
the possibility that he presented it as a means of gaining privilege from
an officer."

The report found several problems with the way Beberg and other deputies
handled the stop:

Once deputies found the nine bags of marijuana on the 17-year-old juvenile,
the other occupants of the vehicle should have been taken into custody.
Only one juvenile was arrested.

A reserve officer found a can of beer in Morgan Grams' sport utility
vehicle and dumped it on the ground. The reserve officer, who is a civilian
with no police authority, shouldn't have been searching the vehicle.
Deputies should have preserved the open can.

A citation should have been issued to Morgan Grams for permitting an open
bottle of beer. That can't be done now because of a lack of evidence.

The fact that the open can wasn't mentioned by the reserve officer to
Beberg or other deputies was the beginning of "a serious problem with
communication" among the officers.

The bag of marijuana found under Morgan Grams' seat showed constructive
possession of marijuana by him, and the deputy who found it never filed a
report on it. Morgan Grams later admitted to Dakota County investigators
that the bag of marijuana was his.

Morgan Grams and the two juveniles should have been tested for sobriety
because of the beer and marijuana found in the vehicle. Because deputies
found the marijuana under the drivers seat, the vehicle should have been
towed and impounded.

The report also said that when the man who loaned the car to Grams picked
it up the next day, he found 20 empty beer cans and four full cans. Beberg
had reported finding only unopened beer cans.

In his report, the Dakota County sheriff said he wasn't troubled by the
fact that Beberg gave Morgan Grams a ride to Plymouth in the front seat of
Beberg's patrol vehicle. The report, while noting that Morgan Grams should
have been arrested, also said that Beberg's unmarked vehicle had no screen
between the back and front seats. That means the officer is better off
having the person in the front where the person can be watched, the report
said.

The report also said earlier reports that Morgan Grams and Robert Hyman,
the man who loaned him the vehicle, had worked together at Alamo Car Rental
were erroneous. They worked together at another company, the the report said.

'We Will Do Better In The Future'

Podany said he was happy that the outside investigators found no evidence
that there was intent to give Grams special treatment, but he admitted that
his officers performed poorly.

"I am not pleased with our performance during this incident . . . We have
done and continue to do outstanding work for the citizens of Anoka County
each and every day. This is not how we do business. We will do better in
the future," Podany said.

He said he would conduct a comprehensive review of departmental procedures.

Podany would not say whether any officers would be disciplined.

Washington County Attorney Douglas Johnson said he will handle the filing
of charges in Anoka County. He said they will be filed today.