Big Lake officer embroiled in department controversy resigns

A Big Lake police officer who sued the city, alleging that the police chief retaliated against him when he complained about the chief's conduct, has resigned.

[stuck in burbs]

what a bunch of garbage... this cop is the victim of years of harassment by his police chief after he had the guts to report the chief's corruption. This b.s about the substance down the sewer is nothing more than a disgruntled neighbor upset that the officer and others arrest his worthless ass too many times, and now the sheriff and county attorney are falling for yet more of the police chief's corruption and harassment. Why doesnt the sheriff and the county attorney stop wasting our tax dollars on Chief Rifenberick's games and start investigating some real crimes. What a bunch of posers...

[just me]

Why do we need a police dept ? Monticello is larger
and doesn't have there own..We need to stop increasing our taxes. Than we wouldn't have to worry
about our corrupt police dept.

[Support local Police]

Why do we need a police dept? with a town of over 9,000 people and cummuter rail coming you need a police dept. If Sheriffs dept gets a hold of big lake...big lake will be in the same spot Zimm and Monti are both in...Both towns were given great deals by their counties to start and now are forced to pay in order to have decent coverage of the city. many people in those towns would love to have a local police dept but the start-up costs are now beyond their control. Big Lake needs to get rid of the bad apples at the Pd and keep the good ones (yes the big lake pd does have a few good officer)

[bl wrestler]

i live in the county and i never see any squad cars and the fact is that if u drive though bl in the evening hours odds are you will see more then one car some times. and with the amount of car thefts the city has do u really want the sheriffs office here. the only place you will see county sheriffs is S.A at two am

[support local PD]

in response to
-stuck in burbs:I think maybe its time you leave the burbs, I can tell you are one person that does not have a clue on what has all happened at the PD, It was about time that mr.pearson left the department, He was not this upstanding officer that you think, he was a huge part of the problem at the department,(treating other officers with disrespect,not doing his job,as well with his brother and Andrew Rick filling false police reports)He in fact did pour gasoline down the city sewer in front of his house, and should be prosecuted for doing such as you would if you were to do the same.....
Just Me: If you think its about time we get rid of the PD and let county take over like monticello, maybe its time you talk to citizens of monti, they would like they're own department back but start up costs are to great to do so...

[tibs]

I agree with support local pd, pearson was a bad apple and a corrupt cop. but i would never want the pd to go, it needs to reformed and restructured so we are not the laughing stock of the county, but with its current growth BL needs its time.

On a seperate note, i really hope that Mr. Pearson is found guilty and looses his peace officers license all together. Thank goodness, he didnt make it onto the city council

[stuck in burbs]

Gee Support local PD, the only one that doesnt seem to have a clue is you. You have no idea who I am or how much I know about this situation. I can guarantee you that I know more about it than you. And for you and tibs, maybe you should do some research before you type nonsense, Mr. Pearson has already been vindicated for the sewer incident. The Sherburne County attorney has decided that the complaint against him was frivilous and without merit and he was not charged. You two need to get a life and educate yourselves before you post this garbage. Neither of you probably personally know Mr.Pearson,except for maybe when he arrested you or someone close to you. Where I come from, that is not being corrupt or a bad apple, that is called being a good cop. I am sure he will soon be a very rich man and working as a cop in a real town while all the big lake cops around him are stuck working for a corrupt police chief. You are both waay off base when it comes to the true facts of this.

[stuck in burbs]

There is a concept in american justice called, "Innocent until proven guilty." Mr. Pearson was not charged with any crimes regarding this sewer incident. Why? because it was a baseless complaint made by someone with an axe to grind. The rest of you making these posts are no better than the person who made this frivilous complaint against mr.pearson. I hope that a time comes soon when each of you are alleged to have done something that was not true. When that happens, I hope you all remember your comments on this site. The truth comes out in courts of law and through the facts. None of you here have any affiliation with either. Why dont you keep your ignorant and misinformed gossip to yourselves and stop trying to ruin the reputation of someone you would have no knowledge of if he hadnt been doing his job and trying his best to protect the people of this city as a police officer. You reap what you sew. The truth will eventually be revealed as to this man and the claims he has made against the police department.

[support local PD]

stuck in burbs wrote:

Gee Support local PD, the only one that doesnt seem to have a clue is you. You have no idea who I am or how much I know about this situation. I can guarantee you that I know more about it than you. And for you and tibs, maybe you should do some research before you type nonsense, Mr. Pearson has already been vindicated for the sewer incident. The Sherburne County attorney has decided that the complaint against him was frivilous and without merit and he was not charged. You two need to get a life and educate yourselves before you post this garbage. Neither of you probably personally know Mr.Pearson,except for maybe when he arrested you or someone close to you. Where I come from, that is not being corrupt or a bad apple, that is called being a good cop. I am sure he will soon be a very rich man and working as a cop in a real town while all the big lake cops around him are stuck working for a corrupt police chief. You are both waay off base when it comes to the true facts of this.

Your right i have no clue who you are but i bet your either one of the pearsons or a friend of there's!!! So there for I dont trust anything you have to say, Cuz what your saying on here I have heard before in fact out of they're mouths!!! I would really like to see mr pearson get a job elsewhere(oh wait he has tried and no one else wants him)Blaine, Minneapolis..wonder why that is??? maybe they see right through the b.S too?

[stuck in burbs]

Nice response... Based upon your words, you must either be Big Lake Police Chief Rifenberick or someone loyal to him, which means nobody on this site would trust you either since Chief Rifenberick is being sued by at least four current or former Big Lake Police officers and nearly everyone on his department, including your probably, has gone to the police union to complain about his tactics. Why dont you get back to work and let the courts decide exactly how much b.s is involved in all of this, because you obviously don't have all the facts. As far as this lawsuit, I hope mr.pearson has his lawyers subpoena Topix to get the identity of those making these comments about him. I am sure he can use it as further proof of harassment by the police chief or one of his cronies

[stuck in burbs]

support local PD wrote:

<quoted text>Your right i have no clue who you are but i bet your either one of the pearsons or a friend of there's!!! So there for I dont trust anything you have to say, Cuz what your saying on here I have heard before in fact out of they're mouths!!! I would really like to see mr pearson get a job elsewhere(oh wait he has tried and no one else wants him)Blaine, Minneapolis..wonder why that is??? maybe they see right through the b.S too?

I wonder how many times Support your local Police is going to write his garbage before he feels important and courageous enough to say this to mr.pearson's face. Based upon the information he/she has on where mr.pearson has applied, it appears that this person is either Rifenberick himself or one of his officer. Therefore, I would be willing to bet that this person will never have the guts to say this stuff to pearson's face, and yet feels powerful just talking behind other's backs. At least mr.pearson has the credentials to be a finalist for positions in these agencies rather than just sit behind a computer desk like you and defame others over issues that are none of your business. I hope mr.pearson gets hired elsewhere too, that way he can come back and show you and other lazy ass Pig Lake cops like you that he has the talent and potential to do more than just hide behind a computer and talk trash about others to compensate for my own inadequacies.

[support local PD]

stuck in burbs wrote:

Nice response... Based upon your words, you must either be Big Lake Police Chief Rifenberick or someone loyal to him, which means nobody on this site would trust you either since Chief Rifenberick is being sued by at least four current or former Big Lake Police officers and nearly everyone on his department, including your probably, has gone to the police union to complain about his tactics. Why dont you get back to work and let the courts decide exactly how much b.s is involved in all of this, because you obviously don't have all the facts. As far as this lawsuit, I hope mr.pearson has his lawyers subpoena Topix to get the identity of those making these comments about him. I am sure he can use it as further proof of harassment by the police chief or one of his cronies

Well see that's where your wrong i'm neither the chief or someone loyal to him...I'm a very concerned citizen, who knows alot about whats going on!!!

[support local PD]

stuck in burbs wrote:

<quoted text>
I wonder how many times Support your local Police is going to write his garbage before he feels important and courageous enough to say this to mr.pearson's face. Based upon the information he/she has on where mr.pearson has applied, it appears that this person is either Rifenberick himself or one of his officer. Therefore, I would be willing to bet that this person will never have the guts to say this stuff to pearson's face, and yet feels powerful just talking behind other's backs. At least mr.pearson has the credentials to be a finalist for positions in these agencies rather than just sit behind a computer desk like you and defame others over issues that are none of your business. I hope mr.pearson gets hired elsewhere too, that way he can come back and show you and other lazy ass Pig Lake cops like you that he has the talent and potential to do more than just hide behind a computer and talk trash about others to compensate for my own inadequacies.

And whats makes you any better then anyone one of us who have been talking about this subject..because how I see it your doing the same!!

[BL Citizen]

In my opinion, I think we have alot of very good officers, who care alot about this town, and yes there might be some problems, but really doesnt every department have there issues, everything takes time for a positive change to happen, we would like it to be sooner then later, but why take it out on the other hard worker officers, stand up and support them, we have no clue what they go through on a daily basis!!!Instead of letting these issues divide this wonderful town, lets come together to get through this!!

[stuck in burbs]

support local PD wrote:

<quoted text>And whats makes you any better then anyone one of us who have been talking about this subject..because how I see it your doing the same!!

I have been saying this entire time to stop gossiping about things that do not personally involve you and let the courts decide who is right and who is wrong. You are the one that keeps bringing this issue back to the forefront. We all know who you are and your real motivations. Nobody is fooled.

[ermom]

I agree with "stuck in burbs" that "support local PD" seems to know a lot about the particulars involving Mr. Pearson, where he has applied for other jobs and the nature of previous allegations against him and other officers (i.e. false police reports). It seems pretty obvious that "support local PD" is Chief Rifenberick's wife, Sherree since she is the one that actually made the false allegation about Officer Todd Pearson filing a false police report. The fact is Chief Rifenberick accepted a knowingly false allegation against Mr. Pearson from his own wife and then manipulated Sherburne County Sheriff's Office into investigating it. The result was Officer Todd Pearson was cleared of the allegation and is now filing a criminal charge against Police Chief Rifenberick's wife Sherree for making a false allegation against a police officer. So maybe the Rifenberick's should stop posting garbage on this site and let the court system decide who is right and wrong. With four lawsuits against him, the person that is going to have trouble keeping or finding a new job is going to be Sean Rifenberick once the truth about his constant retaliation and abuse of his employees comes out.

[Heavy D]

You all are awair that it is possible for anyone with a computer to know what is going on with your disputes.

Your US District Court Copmlaints are Public Information, and published on the internet.

Just look: http://www.sctimes.com/assets/pdf/DR11446082....

[lost in mayberry]

I dont understand how all these officers can file lawsuits against the police chief and city administrator and yet both of them are still working. If I were a citizen of Big Lake, I would be starting some type of petition to run them both out of town. From everything I have heard about that Big Lake Police Chief, he is nothing but an egomaniac bully who is liked by nobody in law enforcement and rules through intimidation and bullying. The cops and citizens of Big Lake need to do the right thing and stand up to him. Maybe the cops need to do a Vote of No Confidence against Chief Rifenberick like was done against the Maple Grove Police Chief a few years back. Maybe only then will the city officials understand what type of leader they truly have as a police chief. HE NEEDS TO GO!!!!