Not-guilty plea entered for Hennepin prosecutor

Article by: ROCHELLE OLSON , Star Tribune
Updated: February 21, 2010 - 1:38 AM

Jim Farrell, an assistant Hennepin County attorney, is charged in a road-rage incident from November.

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Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Jim Farrell's criminal defense lawyer entered a not guilty plea Friday for his client in an alleged road-rage incident last year.

Brian Marsden also told the judge, "I feel optimistic this case will resolve."

The brief session took place on the sixth floor of Hennepin County Government Center where Farrell works prosecuting violent crimes. But Farrell, a former DFL legislator from St. Paul, did not attend the hearing. No reason for his absence was given.

Stevens County Judge Gerald Seibel is presiding over the case because of Farrell's work in Hennepin County.

Farrell is charged with "impersonating an officer," a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a $1,000 fine or both.

According to the complaint: A woman called the State Patrol after a "traffic altercation" in northeast Minneapolis on Nov. 6.

The woman said a black SUV approached her from behind on southbound Interstate 35W and made a sudden lane change very close to her vehicle. The woman said she honked at the SUV driver, who then slowed down and allowed her to pass, the complaint said. The SUV driver then pulled out a badge and motioned for the woman to pull over.

Farrell then walked up to the woman's car, shoved his badge in her face and said, "What do you think of me now, (expletive)?"

Farrell, 49, reported the incident to Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and served a two-week unpaid suspension in December. He also apologized to the woman.

Before being hired by Freeman in 2008, Farrell was executive director of Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747