Officer Acquitted of Assault Charges
St. Paul Pioneer Press
Date: 05/5/09
By Emily Gurnon
A St. Paul police officer accused of punching and kicking a bartender at O'Gara's bar last year was acquitted of assault and instead convicted of a less serious disorderly conduct charge Monday.
Officer Adam Siegfried bowed his head and wiped his eyes as the six-member jury's verdict was read in Ramsey County District Court. Jurors deliberated about four hours before deciding the case Monday night.
In her closing arguments, prosecutor Lisa Godon argued that the case against Siegfried was about a simple, disturbing mindset – summed up in a statement allegedly uttered during a police holiday party at the bar in January 2008.
"We are the (expletive) cops." Siegfried, Godon argued, believed he was above the law when he allegedly shoved, punched and kicked Ryan Smith, an off-duty bartender who walked in on the party.
When Smith's friend Dennis Olson saw Smith on the floor and cried for someone to "call the cops," a voice from the crowd gave the unsympathetic reply.
"That says a lot about the attitude there that night," Godon said in her closing arguments Monday while also commenting on the tendency of the police to band together in the face of a challenge against a fellow officer: "It was an unprovoked attack on an unarmed civilian by someone who was abusing his authority."
Siegfried, 35, of St. Paul – a 10 year veteran of the police department – was charged with four counts of assault and one count of disorderly conduct in connection with the incident that occurred as members of the Western District police unit were holding their holiday party at the Snelling Avenue bar Jan. 20, 2008.
All five counts were misdemeanors.
Siegfried testified in his own defense that the incident never happened as prosecutors alleged. He said he did tell Smith to leave, because Smith was drunk and had bothered one of the female officers.
Smith exited but came back into the bar, Siegfried and others said. When Siegfried began "escorting" Smith out, Smith tripped and fell backward, biting his tongue, the officer said. He denied attacking him.
The assault charges involved Smith as well as Olson, 29, who intervened when he saw Smith on the floor of the bar, he said.
The strongest witness for the prosecution was Molly Michel, a server who said she saw Siegfried shove, punch and kick Smith, 29.
In his closing argument Monday, defense attorney Earl Gray tried to undermine Michel by saying she embellished her story in order to spread gossip among her friends.
Gray disputed the prosecution's argument that Michel had no interest in the case. If all she saw was Smith trip and fall down, as Siegfried said had happened, no one would much care.
But a punch by a cop?
"She's going to get these co-workers really interested now," Gray said.
Michel told a police commander after the incident that she saw Siegfried punch Olson, too – but then said on the witness stand she didn't remember seeing that.
Gray exhorted the jury to heed the testimony of defense witness Dr. Steven Tredal, an emergency-room physician at United Hospital. Tredal said the photos and medical records of Smith and Olson did not appear to show the men were hit in the face, Gray said. Tredal did not treat the men.
Gray also insisted Siegfried had the authority to lead Smith out when he entered the private party intoxicated, was asked to leave, left and then returned. That's trespassing, Gray said.
"Doesn't matter if it's a police party, Shriner's party or a sewing party," Gray said. "If they come back, and they're drunk, you have a right to escort them out."
Godon scoffed at the notion Smith was trespassing.
Smith worked at O'Gara's, though he was off-duty at the time of the party.
Even he had been trespassing, bar owner Dan O'Gara testified he never ceded control of the premises to the groups holding private parties, Godon said.
"The building belongs to O'Gara. It doesn't belong to the St. Paul Police Department," Godon said. "This trespassing issue is completely bogus."
The Minneapolis city attorney's office handled the case against Siegfried to avoid a conflict of interest.
The license of a police officer convicted of a misdemeanor could go before the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training's complaint committee for review and possible action, said Neil Melton, the board's executive director. There are "no hard and fast rules" about what would happen to a license in a misdemeanor case and it "would depend on the circumstances," he said.
Sentencing has been set for June 30.