Hastings officer charged with theft

A Hastings police officer who has been in trouble before was charged Friday with taking a $10 corkscrew from behind the bar at a Hastings restaurant while the bartender was getting him a soft drink.

A misdemeanor theft charge was filed against Rene Doffing, 47, in Dakota County District Court. If convicted, he would lose his license and job as an officer, officials said.

The case is being investigated and prosecuted by Eagan to avoid a conflict of interest.

Doffing's attorney, Paul Engh, said his client is cooperating and "will provide a statement of innocence to Eagan police on Monday. With clear conscience, he did nothing wrong."

The charging complaint gave this account:

An off-duty Dakota County deputy who didn't know Doffing saw him reach over the bar at a Green Mill restaurant in Hastings on Nov. 22. Doffing, also off duty, allegedly grabbed a corkscrew while the bartender was busy pouring him a Diet Coke.

The deputy said Doffing slid the device, which had several attachments, into his pocket and walked away. Doffing appeared minutes later at a meeting with fellow officers in a restaurant side room. He overheard the deputy, Bryce Schuenke, telling an officer that he just had seen a large, heavyset man take a corkscrew from the bar.

Schuenke walked back to the bar and asked bartender Todd O'Halloran if he was missing a corkscrew. He checked a bucket and replied yes, he normally had two but one was gone.

Schuenke told a restaurant manager about the theft and she found Doffing in the side room. She tapped him on the shoulder and asked for the corkscrew, saying they had only one left. He pulled his plate to the edge of the table to cover his hand as it removed the implement from his pocket, and he gave it to her. A restaurant owner told police no one told Doffing he could have the corkscrew.

Doffing was disciplined after a March 2007 incident in which he used his squad car to hit a Wisconsin man, breaking his knee. He said the 23-year-old man refused his order to stop and ran from a bar parking lot. Doffing was fired, but he appealed and was reinstated with 30-day unpaid suspension by a state arbitrator. Criminal charges were filed but later dropped.

Doffing was placed on administrative duty Wednesday, said Hastings Chief Paul Schnell.