A longtime Minneapolis official charged criminally with misusing driver's license data is off the hook after a judge tossed the case and prosecutors said problems with state law hindered them from pursuing it further.
Tom Deegan, the city's former chief of housing inspections, was one of the most visible officials at City Hall until he was charged in September with accessing driver data repeatedly without an authorized purpose. He ended his 37-year career with the city in January.In his first interview since being charged, Deegan on Wednesday called the decision an absolute victory. "Everything they said was proven unfounded," he said.
Misuse of the state's drivers and vehicle services (DVS) database by public employees is common across the state, state records show, but only a handful have been charged criminally. The Deegan case has likely advanced farther than any other, but a judge's ruling exposed problems with a core statute that prosecutors used.
Deegan was charged solely with misconduct of a public employee, a gross misdemeanor. The judge in his case, Laurie Miller, wrote it is unclear whether that state statute covers violations of federal law, such as misusing driver's license data. State law protects DVS data, but key statutes are linked to federal law.
"The judge saw some vagueness in the statute that could make it more difficult for us to be successful," said St. Paul City Attorney Sara Grewing, whose office is handling the case. "We charged the case with facts that we believe are true."
The decision could have implications for other attempts to prosecute DVS misuse across the state. Grewing said she will have meetings next week at the Legislature — which is already tackling tighter regulations around data misuse — to recommend clarifying the law.
Earlier this month, Miller dismissed the brief initial complaint against Deegan because it was too vague. The judge gave prosecutors a week to file a new one. After saying they would refile, prosecutors later opted not to proceed.
Deegan's attorney, Paul Engh, said the complaint was "clothed by opacity" since it did not provide any details about specific instances of misuse. Engh argued that at least 40 employees had misused the data but were not prosecuted, adding that some employees had used Deegan's password.
The judge ruled that Deegan had not proven he was being selectively prosecuted, however.
"The reason she didn't rule on the selective prosecution is because I didn't give her the names, that's why, the names of my colleagues in the Department of Regulatory Services who were doing what I was doing and have continued to do what I was doing when they investigated me," said Deegan, who also served as the city's fire marshal and deputy fire chief.
