# Metro Gang Strike Force *Minnesota gang-enforcement unit, examined by the Legislative Auditor and an independent review panel in 2009 and disbanded that year.* The **Metro Gang Strike Force** was a Minnesota gang-enforcement unit. In 2009 its finances and seizure practices were examined by the [[Office of the Legislative Auditor (Minnesota)]] and by an independent review panel. The Auditor's *Metro Gang Strike Force* (Report 09-18, May 20, 2009) covered July 1, 2005, through March 31, 2009, and found that the unit "did not account for at least $18,126 of seized cash" and "did not develop basic internal controls".[^1] The [[Ramsey County Sheriff]]'s Office served as the unit's fiscal agent through December 31, 2008.[^2] The *Report of the Metro Gang Strike Force Review Panel* (August 20, 2009) states that the Metro force was created in 2005. The project's Time Table gives a different start, dating the beginning of operations to 1998.[^3][^6] The review panel found that "Employees took property for personal use, including televisions, laptops, jewelry" and that "Officers seized money from individuals with no gang connections".[^3] It recommended against stand-alone strike forces and stated that "Future efforts should emphasize prosecutorial participation".[^3] The record after the shutdown runs as follows. A federal criminal probe was closed for lack of evidence, and no officer was criminally prosecuted.[^9] A civil suit settled with payments to victims.[^9][^10] Eight years after the shutdown, the police training course mandated as a result of the matter remained incomplete.[^9] ## Who - **Fiscal agent.** The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office served as the Strike Force's fiscal agent through December 31, 2008. The project's matrix notes that this designation appears in the Legislative Auditor's report and not in the located portion of the panel report.[^2] - **Review panel.** Commissioner Michael Campion requested an independent review on May 26, 2009. The panel consisted of Andrew M. Luger and John Patrick Egelhof.[^3][^4] - **Disbanding authority.** According to MPR News reporting summarized in the project's Time Table, the commissioner disbanded the unit. The Attorney General's Office was not the initiating party in the shutdown.[^8] ## What **Funding.** Minnesota Session Laws 2005, Chapter 136, carried Public Safety appropriations that included Strike Force funding.[^5] **Legislative Auditor's findings.** The Legislative Auditor reported the following:[^1] - The unit "frequently did not follow the state's statutory forfeiture procedures". - Thirteen forfeited vehicles and one seized vehicle could not be located. **Review panel's findings.** The panel documented the following:[^3] - Warrantless cell-phone searches during street stops. - Seizures of cash without notice of forfeiture rights. - "False documents claimed property was destroyed when items remained". **Civil litigation.** Victims' claims were litigated in *Garcia et al. v. Metro Gang Strike Force et al.*, D. Minn. No. 09-cv-1996 (JNE/AJB). The court entered an order in that case (Filing 470) on September 4, 2012.[^11] ## When - **2005:** The Legislature enacted Public Safety appropriations including Strike Force funding.[^5] The review panel's report dates the Metro force's creation to the same year.[^3] - **July 1, 2005 – March 31, 2009:** The period examined by the Legislative Auditor.[^1] - **December 31, 2008:** The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office's service as fiscal agent ended.[^2] - **May 20, 2009:** The Office of the Legislative Auditor issued Report 09-18.[^1] - **May 26, 2009:** Commissioner Michael Campion requested the independent panel review.[^3] - **August 20, 2009:** The review panel issued its report.[^3] - **August 25, 2010:** MPR News reported a settlement with victims.[^10] - **September 4, 2012:** The federal district court entered Filing 470 in *Garcia*.[^11] ## How much - **Unaccounted cash.** The Legislative Auditor found at least $18,126 in seized cash not accounted for.[^1] - **Retained funds.** The Auditor found that roughly $229,000 was retained by the unit when it should have gone to the Attorney General's Office.[^2] - **Individual seizures.** The project's at-issue record, drawing on the 2009 reviews, lists two documented seizures, neither involving a prosecution or a gang connection:[^3] - $4,500 from a construction worker; - $3,600 from a bar patron. - **Settlement amount.** The two sources disagree: - Star Tribune reporting, as recorded in the project's matrix, puts the amount awarded to victims at $840,000.[^9] - An MPR News headline of August 25, 2010, reported a $3 million settlement.[^10] ## How many - **Vehicles.** Fourteen vehicles could not be located: 13 forfeited and one seized.[^1][^2] - **Seizure notices.** Notices were never served in 202 of 545 cash seizures.[^2] - **Members implicated.** The project's Time Table records 34 members, of whom 10 to 12 were implicated. That figure is not stated in the Auditor's report as excerpted in the pack.[^7] ## In the at-issue record **Fiscal agent and seized money.** The project's at-issue record pairs two documented facts from the Legislative Auditor's May 2009 review:[^1][^2] - Seized public money went unaccounted for, along with the vehicle and notice findings above. - During the period reviewed, a county sheriff's office held the fiscal-agent role. The record establishes that the Sheriff's Office was fiscal agent. It does not establish the reasons for that arrangement or the individual decisions made within it.[^2] **Forfeiture without notice.** A second pair concerns forfeiture practice. The August 2009 panel documented cash seized without notification of forfeiture rights, from people with no gang connection and with no prosecution following.[^3] **Recommendation and outcome.** A third pair sets the panel's recommendation for prosecutorial participation beside what followed:[^3][^9] - The federal criminal probe was closed for lack of evidence. - The civil suit was settled. - The mandated training course remained incomplete eight years after the shutdown. **Federal actions pending against the State.** These concern other subjects. Among them is a [[United States Department of Justice]] lawsuit announced in release No. 26-21 (January 14, 2026), titled *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*. In that case, Attorney General Pamela Bondi certified the matter as one of general public importance.[^12] ## In the Minnesota record ### When - **1998:** The project's Time Table dates the start of Strike Force operations to this year, citing Star Tribune reporting.[^6] - **July 17, 2009:** The Time Table records the unit as permanently disbanded.[^7] - **July 2009:** The Time Table records, from MPR News, that the commissioner disbanded the unit and that the Attorney General's Office was not the initiating party.[^8] - **2010:** The Time Table records the following, citing Star Tribune reporting:[^9] - a settlement fund was established; - a League of Minnesota trust fund paid victims; - no officer was criminally prosecuted. ## Notes [^1]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, Financial Audit Division, *Metro Gang Strike Force*, Report 09-18 (May 20, 2009) — at least $18,126 of seized cash unaccounted for; no basic internal controls; statutory forfeiture procedures frequently not followed; 13 forfeited and one seized vehicle unlocated; review period July 1, 2005 – Mar. 31, 2009. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/fad/2009/fad09-18.htm [^2]: Office of the Legislative Auditor, *Metro Gang Strike Force Special Review 09-18* (May 20, 2009), Legislative Reference Library copy — 14 vehicles missing; 202 of 545 seizure notices unserved; about $229,000 retained that should have gone to the Attorney General's Office; Ramsey County Sheriff's Office fiscal agent through Dec. 31, 2008. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/docs/2009/other/090592.pdf [^3]: Metro Gang Strike Force Review Panel (Andrew M. Luger and John Patrick Egelhof), *Report of the Metro Gang Strike Force Review Panel* (Aug. 20, 2009) — panel requested May 26, 2009 by Commissioner Michael Campion; property taken for personal use; seizures from people with no gang connections; false destruction records; warrantless phone searches; seizures without notice; recommendations; Metro force created 2005. https://www.leg.mn.gov/docs/2009/other/090834.pdf [^4]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Metro Gang Strike Force Review Panel* (agency record) — panel membership, Andrew Luger and John Egelhof. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/agencies/detail?AgencyID=2422 [^5]: Office of the Revisor of Statutes, *Minnesota Session Laws 2005*, ch. 136 (2005) — Public Safety appropriations including Strike Force funding. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/2005 [^6]: Minnesota Time Table row TL-0671, citing Star Tribune, *Metro Gang Strike Force* — Strike Force begins operations, 1998. https://www.startribune.com/metro-gang-strike-force/56806362/ [^7]: Minnesota Time Table row TL-0784 (Jul. 17, 2009) — Strike Force permanently disbanded; 10–12 of 34 members implicated. https://www.auditor.leg.state.mn.us/fad/2009/fad09-18.htm [^8]: MPR News, *Strike force report* (Aug. 20, 2009), as summarized in Time Table row TL-0786 — commissioner disbanded the unit; Attorney General's Office not the initiating party. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2009/08/20/strikeforce-report [^9]: Star Tribune, *Metro Gang Strike Force: Minnesota officers, corruption, punishment* — 2010 settlement fund paid by a League of Minnesota trust fund; no criminal prosecution of officers; federal probe closed for lack of evidence; $840,000 to victims; mandated training incomplete eight years after shutdown (as recorded in Time Table row TL-0797 and the project's Ramsey matrix row E-R10). https://www.startribune.com/metro-gang-strike-force-minnesota-officers-corruption-punishment/601191648 [^10]: MPR News, *Gang Strike Force victims reach $3M settlement* (Aug. 25, 2010) — reported settlement figure. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2010/08/25/strike-force-settlement [^11]: U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, *Garcia et al. v. Metro Gang Strike Force et al.*, No. 09-cv-1996 (JNE/AJB), Filing 470 (Order, Sept. 4, 2012) — civil action by victims; order entered. https://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/minnesota/mndce/0:2009cv01996/107908/470 [^12]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *United States Department of Justice Files Lawsuit Against Minnesota's 'Affirmative Action' Regime*, release No. 26-21 (Jan. 14, 2026) — lawsuit announced; Attorney General Bondi certified the case as of general public importance. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-department-justice-files-lawsuit-against-minnesotas-affirmative-action-regime