Arbitrator upholds deputy's dismissal

Wright County was acting within the law when it fired a sheriff's deputy who shared "private law-enforcement information" with her cousin, according to an arbitrator's ruling released Monday. In early 2011, a woman in a custody battle with her ex-boyfriend complained that the deputy, Melissa Lauer, who is the ex-boyfriend's cousin, gave him some private information about her. A department investigation into the allegations was inconclusive, but Lauer was warned that she could be fired for similar behavior, the ruling said. Ten days later, Lauer disclosed information to her cousin about the possibility that his former girlfriend might be arrested, the arbitrator's ruling said. Lauer was terminated in December 2011.