071419.N.BD.RegionalReport — The city of Deerwood. Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch file photo

By Jennifer Kraus

June 08, 2021 at 5:11 PM

The Deerwood City Council is asking Crow Wing County Sheriff Scott Goddard to remove his ban on the Deerwood Police Department and allow its officers into all sheriff office-controlled buildings.

The council met Monday, June 7, in a closed session to discuss what they considered a complaint against Deerwood Police Chief Mark Taylor. When the council convened back in an open meeting, it unanimously approved a motion of support for its police chief.

The alleged complaint stemmed from a May 10 letter written by Goddard to Deerwood Mayor Mike Aulie stating he was restricting access from all sheriff office-controlled buildings for Deerwood Police Department personnel. In the letter, the sheriff cited secret recordings made by Taylor of Crosby law enforcement officers, which surfaced amid a defamation lawsuit, as the reason for the restrictions.

“It is not a decision I take lightly,” Goddard wrote, stating it was necessary after reading the findings of the lawsuit filed by former Crosby Police Officer Jesse Smith against the city of Crosby and the police department’s former top two ranking officers. “I found Chief Taylor’s actions towards retired Chief Kim Coughlin and retired Lt. Kevin Randolph troubling and frankly unacceptable for a person in his position. I cannot consciously allow myself or my staff to be exposed to any surreptitious recordings that Chief Taylor may be conducting.”

Smith filed the civil lawsuit in April 2019 after he was fired twice from his job and subsequently reinstated both times through arbitration before voluntarily resigning from the Crosby Police Department in July 2017. Smith, who also serves as the Cuyuna Police Department chief, was hired as an officer with the Deerwood Police Department in January 2018.

Ninth Judicial District Judge Erik J. Askegaard submitted his ruling a month ago on Smith’s defamation case in Crow Wing County District Court in Brainerd, dismissing it with prejudice, meaning the case cannot be brought back to court.

The city council issued its statement to media outlets Monday night after its meeting. The council stated Taylor’s actions were not only legal, but in the best interest of his own position, the Deerwood Police Department and the city of Deerwood.

Deerwood City Council’s stance

In the city council’s statement, the council wrote the issue in the complaint was Taylor recording conversations with Coughlin and Randolph.

“Given their track record of twice firing officer Smith, only to see him reinstated twice; and bringing multiple charges against Crosby Mayor Jim Hunter, all of which were either dismissed or found to be not guilty, Chief Taylor made the decision to record conversations when both Chief Coughlin and Lt. Randolph started calling him with accusations, including at one point to sue the City of Deerwood. Similar calls were also being made at times to Deerwood Mayor Mike Aulie who did not record the calls.”

Deerwood Mayor Mike Aulie

The council also is disappointed with the way Goddard made the decision in his letter instead of contacting Taylor or Aulie first to air his concerns or seek an explanation.

“ ... He entered the County into a tenuous and political situation between the Crosby and Deerwood police departments, a relationship that we see improving with the new leadership in Crosby,” the statement read.

The Deerwood City Council wrote it understands that Goddard may be uncomfortable with law enforcement being recorded by other officers, however, “in today’s world, police officers should be aware of increased public scrutiny and recordings. Furthermore, law enforcement agencies themselves are making growing use of squad and body cam recordings for their own protection.”

The council asked Goddard to remove his ban on the police department and “allow our officers to interact with county law enforcement as they have done in the past for the good and safety of all our citizens,” the statement read.

In a telephone interview after the meeting, Aulie said council members had a chance to review the statement before they voted on it. Taylor, who was not at the meeting as he is on vacation, submitted his own statement explaining his actions to the council in the closed meeting, Aulie said. Taylor's statement was not made public, Aulie said, citing it was disclosed in a closed meeting.

Aulie said Taylor made him aware in the beginning that he was recording Coughlin and Randolph and he had no objection.

“It is something that is perfectly legal and there was some concern in the past history and whatnot, of accusations or things that might go against Chief Taylor or against the department or against the city as a whole,” Aulie said, such as Crosby Police Department suing the city of Deerwood.

Aulie sent a letter to Goddard in response to his letter.

“Sheriff Goddard did respond to the letter that I sent to him and we agreed that he would give me a call to set up a meeting, but that never materialized,” Aulie said.

Aulie said the council wants the sheriff to remove his ban so the city and county can continue to do things as they have in the past.

Sheriff’s stance

Sheriff Goddard said the sheriff’s office has made its decision and they are standing by it.

“I don’t really have anything more to say about it,” Goddard said Wednesday morning in a telephone interview. “We’re moving on. We made the decision.”

Goddard said the sheriff’s office stance was written in the May 10 letter and he doesn’t plan to submit a big statement in response to the city council’s statement.