The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office will continue managing the county crime lab, for now.
Commissioner Marion Greene, at Tuesday's County Board meeting, withdrew her proposal to have the lab report to county administrators rather than the Sheriff's Office. The board unanimously approved withdrawing the measure.
However, Greene indicated she plans next year to bring forward a transparent process to look at the lab's governance. She admitted that management of the lab and a possible merger with the Minneapolis police crime lab, which she included in the proposal, should have been tackled separately.
Using studies of county crime lab governance, Greene and Commissioner Linda Higgins had suggested it would be better to have county personnel outside law enforcement oversee the lab, which provides forensic services to dozens of agencies in the county.
Sheriff Rich Stanek opposed the measure, saying it would threaten public safety. He said he was grateful for the decision to withdraw the proposal.
"I've always said this is a nonpartisan crime lab and should be immune from political games," said Stanek in a statement after the meeting.
DAVID CHANEN
