Star Tribune
Investigation finds maltreatment of juvenile at Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center
A staff member of the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center committed maltreatment in May when grabbing and forcing a juvenile to the floor, causing serious harm, a state Department of Human Services (DHS) investigation found.
The employee was fired a day after the incident, according to a DHS memo released last week, which was scant on details such as the age and gender of those involved. A supervisor had called the behavior something “way outside” the facility’s use-of-force policy, according to the memo.
DHS investigates reports of suspected maltreatment in juvenile correctional facilities. Because the staff member had received training on the facility’s policies and state law, DHS determined the staffer, not the facility, was responsible.
Ramsey County declined to comment on the incident “due to the possibility of pending litigation.”
DHS said it referred the case to the Department of Corrections for any follow-up.
Juvenile found unresponsive
According DHS’ investigative memorandum issued Oct. 4:
Video footage described in the memo from the May 11 incident showed words exchanged between the juvenile and the staffer through a glass window in the door of the juvenile’s room. The staffer walked away and returned to the door five times, continuing the exchange. The video had no audio.
The video showed that the staffer appeared agitated before pointing at the juvenile, according to the report. Eventually, the staffer unlocked the door. When the juvenile stepped forward, the staffer reached toward the juvenile’s neck, grabbed their T-shirt and forced them to the floor. The staffer then got on top of the juvenile and pushed them into the floor multiple times, the memo said. Video showed the juvenile’s head bouncing up and down, twice hitting the floor. The staffer turned the juvenile to their other side and put a knee to their back, pinning an arm behind their back.
According to the report, the juvenile did not appear to fight back when pushed into the floor. The staffer radioed “Code 2,” meaning an incident that could be life-threatening or result in serious harm. When other staff arrived, one checked on the juvenile, who stood up and was put back in their room.
After the incident, the juvenile declined a nurse assessment for a bleeding lip, the report said. The juvenile was evaluated later that day after being found unresponsive. The juvenile told the nurse they were seeing stars. Numerous times in the following days, the juvenile was found unresponsive, sometimes with blood nearby, the report said. They were taken to the hospital twice, where examinations found the juvenile bruised with swelling on the right shin, but tests, including CT, EKG and X-rays, were normal.
Staffer fired
The staffer was sent home after writing a report on the incident, and was terminated the next day. In the DHS memo, a supervisor said the staffer had not followed proper procedures because the juvenile had been in a secured room and didn’t pose a threat. Facility policy dictates using the minimum force necessary.
Because the juvenile was injured, DHS concluded the incident met the bar for “serious maltreatment,” which disqualifies the staffer from providing direct contact services.
The Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center, in downtown St. Paul, is licensed for as many as 44 juveniles up to age 18.
There are no other public reports of maltreatment investigations or licensing actions associated with the detention center on DHS’ website, which shows records for four years after they’re posted. Across 20 juvenile detention centers in Minnesota listed on the DHS site, there were 11 posted maltreatment investigations, including one at the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center, released in March.
We at the Minnesota Star Tribune are committed to continually enhancing our digital products and experience. Earlier this year, we rebooted and upgraded the Minnesota Star Tribune’s website and apps to create a cleaner, crisper, modern platform that we’ll continue to build upon. And today, we’re reaching out to let you know about another upcoming enhancement that will impact anyone who visits startribune.com or our mobile apps.
Starting Friday, Oct. 25, we are making changes to our login and subscription management system. These changes will require you to log back into your Minnesota Star Tribune account on startribune.com and to our apps when login goes live there early next week. We’re sorry for the small inconvenience – but it will be worth it.
Why are we doing this? We are moving subscription management for our digital subscribers to a modern subscription management platform. This platform will level up your subscription management experience, allowing us to serve you in ways that were not possible with our legacy system.
Enhancements you will notice include a modern payment infrastructure and subscription management, including the ability to easily make changes to your subscription right in the platform. You will also see a simplified login flow using your email address (no need to remember a separate username).
If you are a subscriber, or if you have logged into the site over the past two years, you should have already received communication about this via email, and we encourage you read those communications to ensure you are prepared for this change. In addition, you will see messaging on our website and apps notifying you of this coming change.
If you encounter any issues, you can find more information about our updates here.
In addition, we will be rolling out new ways to log in to your account, starting with Google, on Friday.
This upgrade also lays the foundation for greater personalization and content customization for a more robust digital experience in the future.
ROCHESTER – The biggest venue here will technically have new operators in 2025, though there likely won’t be staff changes.
Experience Rochester has switched operating companies, ending a contract with venue specialists ASM Global and expanding a contract with its food and beverage vendor Oak View Group. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) revealed Friday that 146 workers would be affected by the switch.
ASM Global notified DEED officials last month that it planned to lay off its staff running the Civic Center. Experience Rochester said in a statement Friday that Oak View Group plans to rehire and retain all employees once it takes over operations in January, “ensuring continuity and a seamless transition for our staff and our guests.”
The Mayo Civic Center has been a Rochester fixture since 1939, though it’s expanded over the years. It boasts almost 200,000 square feet of space, can seat up to 7,200 people in its arena and claims to be the largest event facility in southern Minnesota.
A head-on crash of pickup trucks on the Iron Range in northern Minnesota killed both drivers, officials said.
The collision occurred about 8:50 a.m. Thursday just west of Britt in the 9100 block of Biss Road, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said.
Frank Bertram Ratliff, 76, Angora, Minn., was driving east on Biss and appeared to have drifted onto the shoulder to the right, overcorrected and struck a westbound pickup being driven by Steven Craig Shoden 69, of Virginia, Minn., the Sheriff’s Office said.
Emergency responders declared both men dead at the scene.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings