This stinks! https://www.twincities.com/2026/05/04/state-fair-lawsuit-whistleblower-bob-fletcher/
The Minnesota State Fair assistant police chief says in a whistleblower lawsuit that he reported what he believed to be unlawful conduct by Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher and law enforcement, and his hours were limited as a result.
In his lawsuit, Michael Coffey described incidents he reported, including seeing a video that showed “a young man on the ground with multiple law enforcement officers on top of him, and Sheriff Fletcher deploying a canister of chemical munitions to the face of the restrained man before pointing the canister at a surrounding crowd.”
The man was restrained and his hands were raised, “indicating surrender, at the time Sheriff Fletcher sprayed him,” according to the lawsuit filed last week in Ramsey County District Court against Fletcher and the Fair.
Fletcher said in a statement Monday that Coffey “made several false accusations during the Fair,” and he said that included the allegation about his use of chemical irritant.
Coffey’s lawsuit also sounded the alarm about how three people were detained during the Fair. A juvenile and two men who were in handcuffs and in custody on the evening of Sept. 1 had no charges listed and arrest notes had phrasing similar to “hold until after the Fair.”
“During this inquiry into the in-custody status of these detainees, three deputies told … Coffey that they had concerns regarding the detentions, but that they were following orders,” the lawsuit said. “… Coffey believed that these detentions were Department of Corrections and Department of Justice violations and were not legal.”
Coffey reported the information to State Fair Police Chief Ron Knafla, who is also a Ramsey County sheriff’s office commander.
The Fair ended Sept. 1. An FBI agent contacted Coffey on Sept. 4 “to discuss the incidents that Coffey had reported involving Sheriff Fletcher,” Coffey’s lawsuit said, adding that he met the next day with the FBI agent and “reported what he believed were violations of the law.”
Fletcher said Monday that the lawsuit was the first he’d heard of the FBI asking questions.
Asked if the FBI conducted an investigation or if an investigation is underway, a spokesman at the agency’s Minneapolis office said, “By policy, the FBI cannot offer comment at this time.”
Lawsuit says schedule was changed
Overall, Fletcher said in his statement, “Sgt. Coffey’s lawsuit is motivated by his desire to be the next State Fair Police Chief and his awareness that many members of the law enforcement community are opposed to that.”
A State Fair spokesperson said in a Monday statement: “The State Fair’s actions were entirely proper and the State Fair will defend itself in the legal proceedings. No further comment will be made while the litigation is pending.”
Ben Bauer, an attorney representing Coffey, said he’s “a dedicated law enforcement officer who’s worked at the State Fair for over 30 years.”
“He reported what he believed to be unlawful conduct, and that’s what we would expect and want from any officer in that position,” he said Monday. “He shouldn’t be punished for that, and we allege in the complaint that he was.”
In November, Knafla told Coffey that Fletcher “had demanded that Coffey be terminated or the RCSO would no longer provide officers for the State Fair,” according to the lawsuit. “… Coffey explained to Cmdr. Knafla that he felt bullied and that he was being punished for reporting the violations committed by Sherriff Fletcher and RCSO.”
The lawsuit says Coffey’s schedule was changed, which will affect his earnings because he’s being prevented from working nighttime hours at an overtime rate.
The agreement with the Fair was that Coffey would be best served working days because, Fletcher said in the statement, “Coffey’s lack of experience in mitigating gang violence jeopardizes the safety of the public and the officers who work at the State Fair. The influx of rival gang members after 7 p.m. requires expertise in controlling any potential conflicts or fights that erupt.”
Uninvolved bystanders’ sprayed with chemical irritant
Coffey has worked for the Cottage Grove Police Department since 1994 and is a sergeant. He’s also been a State Fair officer since 1994 and has been assistant chief since 2022. During the 12 days of the Fair, he’s been an on-site supervisor, working day and night shifts.
During the early days of the Fair last year, “intelligence reports indicated that the final weekend of the Fair … may involve increased gang activity on or near the fairgrounds,” the lawsuit said. “The primary source of these intelligence reports was the RCSO, specifically Sheriff Fletcher. Other agencies including the St. Paul Police Department and Hennepin County Intelligence Units did not report receiving similar intelligence.”
A planning meeting was held Aug. 29 and the evening was uneventful.
On the evening of Aug. 30, Coffey saw a large crowd of Fair attendees near the Midway area. Fletcher and several Ramsey County sheriff’s office employees were in the same area.
“As a result of an altercation between a single individual and members of law enforcement, an RCSO representative sprayed a crowd of uninvolved bystanders with a Mark IX chemical munitions canister as a means of crowd control” without warning, the lawsuit said. “The use of crowd control munitions against a crowd of uninvolved, lawfully present persons as a response to the acts of one individual is excessive force.”
A Minneapolis police lieutenant wrote in his after-action report “that he was concerned that these munitions were deployed ‘with no apparent regard for safety of the crowd’ and did not appear to be a lawful use of force,” the lawsuit said.
Coffey did not see which deputy sprayed the canister. He approached Fletcher “and expressed his concerns,” the lawsuit said. Despite “Coffey’s remarks, Sheriff Fletcher was observed telling RCSO officers during a roll call on Monday, Sept. 1 that ‘party cans,’ i.e. large Mark IX canisters, ‘are your friends.'”
Lawsuit includes whistleblower claim
After Coffey received the video on Aug. 31 that he said showed Fletcher using chemical irritant on a man the night before, he sent it to State Fair Chief Knafla. Later, Coffey learned that Knafla and State Fair Public Information Officer Dave Titus, who previously worked for Fletcher, reviewed the video and said they didn’t see excessive force violations.
Knafla told Coffey he spoke with Fletcher, who said he had not deployed any chemical munitions.
Last fall, Knafla told Coffey his job duties would be changing and cited three reasons: Coffey’s “handling of the Midway and the need to stop interfering with RCSO’s officers,” Coffey preventing IT from replacing his computer two days before the Fair began and not following a “a directive that prohibited State Fair police from escorting fair vendors who are carrying large sums of cash on the fairgrounds.”
“None of these events were raised in a disciplinary capacity until after … Coffey had reported Sheriff Fletcher’s and RCSO’s actions,” the lawsuit continued.
Coffey met with State Fair CEO Renee Alexander in November and “was informed that Sheriff Fletcher had imposed a deadline of Dec. 15 to decide whether to terminate … Coffey,” the lawsuit said. Coffey asked Alexander to speak with people familiar with the events of the Fair’s final weekend and review videos of incidents.
When they met again soon after, “CEO Alexander confirmed that she and Cmdr. Knafla decided that, because of the State Fair’s reliance on RCSO’s resources and the threat that Sheriff Fletcher would withhold those resources … Coffey would be limited to working daytime hours during the Fair and would be required to leave the grounds once Sheriff Fletcher arrived,” the lawsuit continued, adding that Alexander did not raise any of the three incidents that Knafla previously referenced.
Coffey’s lawsuit claims the State Agricultural Society, which governs the Fair, violated the Minnesota Whistleblower Act by unlawful retaliation. The lawsuit also claims “tortious interference with a contract” by Fletcher, saying that as a result of the sheriff’s “demand and threat to withhold RCSO resources,” his hours were limited and his wages affected.