Trial of former Nisswa mayor postponed

Gavel sits on a desk — Graphic illustration

By Dispatch staff report

November 11, 2022 12:54 PM

BRAINERD — The misdemeanor disorderly conduct trial of former Nisswa Mayor Fred Heidmann originally scheduled to begin Wednesday, Nov. 9, was postponed.

The jury trial was tentatively rescheduled to take place the week of Feb. 24, 2023. The reason for the postponement, according to Heidmann’s Attorney Ed Shaw, was due to witness availability.

Heidmann’s case stems from an Aug. 29, 2020, incident when Pequot Lakes and Nisswa police officers were conducting a traffic stop of a third party along Highway 371 south of Nisswa as part of the Toward Zero Deaths program. Heidmann, who was at his business across the highway, began videotaping the traffic stop and then walked across the four-lane highway with his dog toward the stopped vehicle.

According to police reports, police told Heidmann he could videotape the incident but to stand back from the highway to be safe. Heidmann asked what the officers were doing and why they stopped the vehicle, using expletives and making critical comments about the officers and the nature of the stop.

Heidmann left and returned again to the scene of the traffic stop, parking nearby before approaching passengers in the stopped vehicle. An officer handcuffed Heidmann and he was cited for two misdemeanors — obstruction of the legal process and disorderly conduct.

Edited body camera video of the incident was later released to the media by the Nisswa Police Department. The obstruction of the legal process citation was dismissed in December 2020.

By Dispatch staff report

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