Cass Lake police officer cleared in incident, back on job

I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.

July 8, 1999

By Devlyn Brooks

Cass Lake police officer Ken Washington was returned to duty at the June 9 Cass Lake City Council meeting, according to City Administrator Bob Fitzgerald.

Washington had been on paid administrative leave for about six weeks pending a Beltrami County Sheriff's Department investigation of an alleged off-duty property damage incident that occurred at a Cass Lake bar.

"On the advice of the (Cass) County attorney and our labor relations attorney, we reinstated him" Fitzgerald said Wednesday. "They reviewed the investigation, and they believed that there would be no formal charges."

Cass County Attorney Earl Maus confirmed Wednesday that after reviewing the investigation he would not file criminal charges against Washington for the incident.

"Another party he was with that evening has stepped forward and admitted (to committing the damage)," Maus said.

He said that someone with Washington had damaged a car in the alleged incident, and that person has been charged for the incident.

"We found no wrongdoing (on Washington's part) in regard to the criminal charges," Maus said.