Ex-Strike Force officers hiring legal counsel

With an FBI probe entering its eighth month, former officers of the dismantled Metro Gang Strike Force have hired some of the Twin Cities' most prominent defense attorneys. They appear to have good reason.

"All of those police officers are in the cross hairs of the gun of the government," said Craig Cascarano, a Minneapolis attorney hired by Randy Olson, a former Strike Force sergeant who became the subject of an internal affairs investigation and resigned from the Minneapolis Police Department in August.

David Ayers, an attorney with the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association defense fund, said this week that although federal grand juries are shrouded in secrecy, "it appears things are going to heat up" in January. He said officials in the Justice Department, which oversees the FBI inquiry, told him they want to decide next month whether to convene a grand jury to consider criminal charges against ex-members of the disbanded Strike Force. "It appears to me they are looking at several officers," the Mendota Heights attorney said.

Ayers said he did intake interviews with former Strike Force officers who believe they may need legal assistance. Officers who pay into the fund receive legal representation if necessary.

Seven attorneys contacted by the Star Tribune this week acknowledged they are or will be representing ex-officers of the Strike Force if indictments come down. It is not clear how many could face charges.

The Strike Force was a multi-jurisdictional unit that was the subject of two harsh state reports that cited mismanagement and other problems. State Department of Public Safety Commissioner Michael Campion shut down the unit in July as law enforcement agencies withdrew their officers and revelations of questionable property seizures and other alleged misconduct mounted.

Cascarano said he believes, based on information he obtained, Olson is a target of the FBI investigation, although he insisted his client was an "exemplary police officer" who did nothing wrong. Cascarano said he has no doubt other ex-Strike Force members are targets, too.

It's predictable that the officers would hire lawyers. "When one is viewed by the government as a target," said Cascarano, "the government has overwhelming power, and the only smart thing, regardless of whether you are completely innocent or completely guilty, is to hire the best lawyer you can get."

Minneapolis attorney Peter Wold represents Ron Ryan, the Strike Force's former commander. The former assistant commander, Lt. James Heimerl, retained Fred Bruno, a Golden Valley attorney.

Bill Michael, an ex-assistant U.S. attorney, represents ex-Strike Force member Paul Meskan, a Ramsey County deputy. The sheriff's office suspended Meskan for 10 days for alleged misconduct while in the unit.

St. Paul attorney Deborah Ellis represents a former Strike Force member whom she declined to identify. Earl Gray, a Minneapolis attorney, said the Police and Peace Officers Association told him that he will be assigned to defend an officer in the event of an indictment. Bob Sicoli, a Minneapolis attorney, represents David Garman, a Minneapolis police officer fired in September in connection with Strike Force activity. Ayers said he represents two ex-Strike Force officers.

Cascarano speculated that FBI agents are reviewing Strike Force case files going back to its formation in 1997. Last summer, Campion, the state Public Safety commissioner, appointed two special investigators to probe the Strike Force, but with limited resources and a short time frame, they reviewed files going back only to 2006.

"The public integrity section investigates alleged corruption by public officials," said David Lillehaug, former U.S. attorney for the Minnesota district. "In this situation, the investigation might include embezzlement, destruction of evidence and obstruction of justice.

"The civil rights division can define civil rights very broadly, but typically their investigation focuses on something related to race or police brutality," he said. "The civil rights division could be investigating whether this law enforcement agency discriminated on the base of race or engaged in roughing up suspects."

Defense attorney Bruno said this week, "We have heard nothing from anybody with respect to a criminal investigation." He added that he was confident his client, Heimerl, will be vindicated.

Wold, attorney for ex-commander Ryan, said he can't speculate on what the FBI is after.

"Ron Ryan is a legendary cop in Minnesota," he said, "and I would certainly hope that calm minds will agree that he certainly hasn't committed a criminal offense, because he hasn't. Obviously there was a lot of political turmoil over funding and operating a multijurisdictional task force. It is not an easy thing to do."

Michael, a member of the Dorsey Whitney law firm, sent a request to Land under the state Data Practices Act on Oct. 16 on behalf of his client, Meskan, seeking a wide range of documents concerning Strike Force operations.

Lillehaug said a lengthy federal inquiry isn't unusual. "This is a combination of a complicated white-collar investigation and a civil rights inquiry that may encompass eight or nine years of [Strike Force] activity, so people cannot expect indictments immediately," he said.