# Dakota County Sheriff's Office *Sheriff's office of Dakota County, Minnesota* The Dakota County Sheriff's Office is the county [[sheriff]]'s agency in Dakota County, [[Minnesota]], and holds detainees at the [[Dakota County jail]]. A medical-neglect complaint concerning the jail was filed in July 2024. In response, the Sheriff's Office called detainee safety and care its "highest priority in the jail," and the county said the matter was "under review internally."[^1] The Minnesota Department of Corrections inspected the jail in July 2023 and again in June 2025.[^2][^3] The agency appears in two other records. In a 2003 statewide racial profiling report to the [[Minnesota Legislature]], it was one of 65 participating jurisdictions, listed as the Dakota County Sheriff's Department.[^4] In January 2024 it investigated a death at the Washington County jail together with the Ramsey County Medical Examiner.[^5] ## Who - The Dakota County Sheriff's Office responded to the July 2024 medical-neglect complaint concerning the Dakota County jail. Dakota County said the matter was under internal review.[^1] - The [[Council on Crime and Justice]] issued the 2003 *Minnesota Statewide Racial Profiling Report to the Minnesota Legislature*. It lists the Dakota County Sheriff's Department among its 65 participating jurisdictions.[^4] - The Dakota County Sheriff's Office and the Ramsey County [[medical examiner]] acted as outside agencies in investigating the January 2024 death of a 21-year-old woman at the Washington County jail. The *[[Star Tribune]]* reported that the death was investigated as a suicide.[^5] ## What - The Sheriff's Office's response to the complaint stated: "The safety and care of our detainees has always been and continues to be our highest priority in the jail."[^1] - The Minnesota Department of Corrections published inspection reports on the Dakota County jail. Before the Sheriff's response, a state inspection had found a medication violation at the jail.[^2][^3] ## When - December 18, 2023: the woman who later died at the Washington County jail was arrested. She was booked on December 20, 2023.[^5] - 12:40 a.m., Friday, January 5, 2024: she was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene.[^5] - July 2023 and June 2025: the Department of Corrections inspected the Dakota County jail.[^2][^3] - July 2024: the medical-neglect complaint concerning the Dakota County jail was filed.[^1] - 2003: the Council on Crime and Justice reported to the Legislature on racial profiling.[^4] ## Where - The Dakota County jail, the site of the July 2024 complaint and of the 2023 and 2025 state inspections.[^1][^2][^3] - The Washington County jail, where the January 2024 death that the agency investigated occurred.[^5] ## How many - The 2003 report covered 65 participating jurisdictions statewide, including the Dakota County Sheriff's Department.[^4] - Across those jurisdictions, the report found that Black drivers were stopped 213.84% above expected and searched 154.69% above expected. Contraband hit rates were 11% versus 24%.[^4] - These are statewide figures, not figures for Dakota County alone. The report concluded that there was "a strong likelihood that racial/ethnic bias plays a role."[^4] ## In the at-issue record The record sets two documents side by side. In the first, the Sheriff's Office answered the July 2024 complaint by naming detainee safety and care as its "highest priority in the jail," and the county announced an internal review.[^1] In the second, a state inspection by the Minnesota Department of Corrections, which is external and published, had already found a medication violation at the jail.[^2] As reported, the response does not mention that inspection finding.[^1][^2] The complaint's contents are allegations. The record gives no docket number, court, or present status for the matter beyond the month of filing.[^1] ## Notes [^1]: *Star Tribune*, report on the medical-neglect lawsuit concerning the Dakota County jail (July 2024). Establishes that the complaint was filed in July 2024 and gives the Sheriff's Office's and county's stated responses. https://www.startribune.com/lawsuit-man-in-crisis-left-unresponsive-covered-in-blood-and-feces-in-dakota-county-jail/600381734 [^2]: Minnesota Department of Corrections, *Dakota County Jail* inspection report (July 2023). Establishes the state's 2023 inspection findings for the Dakota County jail. https://mn.gov/doc/assets/Dakota%20County%20Jail%202023_tcm1089-611871.pdf [^3]: Minnesota Department of Corrections, *Dakota* jail inspection report (June 2025). Establishes the state's 2025 inspection of the Dakota County jail. https://mn.gov/doc/assets/Dakota%202025_tcm1089-696976.pdf [^4]: Council on Crime and Justice, *Minnesota Statewide Racial Profiling Report to the Minnesota Legislature* (2003). Lists the Dakota County Sheriff's Department among 65 participating jurisdictions and gives the statewide stop, search and hit-rate figures and the report's conclusion. https://static.prisonpolicy.org/scans/ccj/Racial%20Profiling%20Study.pdf [^5]: *Star Tribune*, report on the death of a 21-year-old woman at the Washington County jail (January 2024). Establishes the arrest and booking dates, the time and date she was found, and the investigation by the Dakota County Sheriff's Office and the Ramsey County Medical Examiner. https://www.startribune.com/woman-21-dies-at-washington-county-jail/600332134