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Former Alexandria police chief strikes deal in misconduct case
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Rick Wyffels was arrested in April of 2022 after a year-long investigation into alleged financial crimes involving public money.
ALEXANDRIA, Minn. — The former Alexandria police chief will serve four days in jail and pay $65,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to a gross misdemeanor charge of misconduct by a public official.
Rick Wyffels was originally charged with felony theft by swindle in April of 2022 after being accused of using his position as police chief to make unauthorized purchases with a city-issued credit card. During a year-long investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), sparked by the discovery of irregular financial records by the city, agents discovered that between Dec. 16, 2014, and July 7, 2020, Wyffels had used his city credit card to purchase computers, cell phones, televisions, security cameras, lawn care items and other merchandise not in use by the department.
In total, prosecutors said the items allegedly purchased by Wyffels during that period totaled nearly $66,000.
The plea agreement negotiated with Stearns County prosecutors calls for Wyffels to pay $65,000 to the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (which covered the losses), serve a 120-day jail sentence (with 116 of those stayed), and be on unsupervised probation for a year while maintaining a clean record.
Stearns County took over the case from Douglas County prosecutors to avoid a conflict of interest.
In a news release announcing the plea agreement, city officials made clear that since the discovery of wrongdoing and Wyffels’ retirement in 2020, Alexandria has implemented new policies and procedures for purchasing and credit card usage while emphasizing the importance of high ethical standards for its public employees.
“Although the city of Alexandria was subjected to an egregious abuse of power during Mr. Wyffels’ time of employment, our community can move on from this experience with honor and dignity,” reflected current Mayor Bobie Osterberg. “Alexandria is strong. We learn from experiences, and we grow together.”
Rick Wyffels served as Alexandria’s police chief from 2006 to 2020.
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Man dies in fatal crash after fleeing West St. Paul police
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Officers said a 35-year-old man struck a power pole and two parked cars after fleeing police early on Sunday morning.
WEST ST PAUL, Minn. — A man was killed in a crash early Sunday morning after fleeing police in West St. Paul.
Officials said a woman called to report a 35-year-old man threatening people and damaging property inside a home after consuming a “large amount” of alcohol and using drugs. The emergency dispatcher said they could hear a male yelling in the home and what sounded like items being thrown.
In a press release, police later said they saw the man’s vehicle headed west on Moreland Avenue in West St. Paul and tried to stop the vehicle and arrest the driver for Domestic Assault and other charges. The driver fled, police said.
A few blocks after police tried to stop the driver, he crossed Robert Street and lost control, striking a power pole and two unoccupied vehicles in a driveway near Moreland Avenue and Kruse Street.
The man was thrown from the vehicle. Medics were called, but police said the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mendota Heights police and the Minnesota State Patrol are investigating the crash.
KARE 11 will update this story as more details are made available.
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Michigan judge loses docket after she’s recorded insulting gays and Black people
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Oakland County Probate Judge Kathleen Ryan was removed from her docket on Aug. 27 for unspecified misconduct.
PONTIAC, Mich. — A suburban Detroit judge is no longer handling cases after a court official turned over recordings of her making anti-gay insults and referring to Black people as lazy.
Oakland County Probate Judge Kathleen Ryan was removed from her docket on Aug. 27 for unspecified misconduct. Now the court’s administrator has stepped forward to say he blew the whistle on her, secretly recording their phone calls.
“I just want to make it right. … I want to keep my job and do it in peace,” Edward Hutton told WXYZ-TV. “And I want the people in Oakland County that come to court to get a fair shake, to have their day in court, to have an unbiased trier of fact.”
The judge didn’t talk to the TV station, but her attorneys, Gerald Gleeson and Thomas Cranmer, said: “We look forward to vindicating Judge Ryan in the appropriate forum.”
Probate judges in Michigan handle wills and estates, guardianships and cases that involve the state’s mental health laws.
In the phone recordings, Ryan uses an anti-gay slur against David Coulter, the county’s highest elected official, who is gay. She also referred to Blacks in the U.S. as lazy.
“I’m not systemically racist. I’m a new racist,” said Ryan, who was first elected in 2010.
It is legal to record phone calls in Michigan if one party consents. In this matter, it was Hutton, who said Ryan had called him at work and after-hours for years.
Hutton said he sent the recordings in August to Coulter, the chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. Chief Probate Judge Linda Hallmark then suspended her, with pay, while she’s investigated by a judiciary watchdog, the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission.
Her father, James Ryan, was a state and federal judge. A brother, Daniel Ryan, was also a judge.
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Police: Post about missing 3-year-old is fake
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A picture circulating on social media reporting a 3-year-old girl found wandering alone is not credible, police said.
RICHFIELD, Minn — Richfield police said a post circulating about a missing 3-year-old girl found alone walking behind a home is false.
The picture, seen on Ring Neighborhood in Richfield, said a child named “Mila” was found walking behind a home in Richfield and taken to the police station by “Deputy Sara Thomas.”
KARE 11 contacted the law enforcement agencies mentioned in the post, but both the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and Richfield dispatch said they did not respond to a call about a missing child.
Richfield police said a similar post had circulated through the community’s social media pages several weeks ago. Posts like this have also been shared across the country, including this one from KARE 11’s sister station in North Carolina.
It’s easy to get caught by scammers, especially with a subject as emotionally charged as a missing child. Before you share a post about a missing child, an easy way to check if it is true or not is to visit the social media pages of the police departments mentioned.
You can also take a look at the profile that first shared the post. If the account has few to no friends or was created recently, that’s a sign the post could be fake.
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