Records Detail 36 Police Disciplinary Actions in 2025
BY MN CRIME STAFF
More than 35 Minnesota police officers were disciplined in 2025 through licensing actions issued by the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training, according to records reviewed by MN CRIME.
The POST Board is the state agency responsible for licensing peace officers and has independent authority to impose discipline that can occur separately from, or in addition to, discipline imposed by an officer’s employing agency.
> Sign up for the MN CRIME newsletter
The records reflect only final disciplinary actions taken by the POST Board. They do not include suspensions, terminations or other internal discipline imposed by police departments or sheriff’s offices. In some cases, agencies disciplined officers before POST Board action occurred. In others, the POST Board imposed licensing sanctions regardless of whether agency discipline had already been issued. POST Board discipline directly affects an officer’s ability to hold a peace officer license anywhere in Minnesota.
The 2025 disciplinary data shows a wide range of misconduct reviewed at the state level. Driving under the influence was the most common conduct cited, appearing 10 times in the POST Board’s final actions. Alcohol-related misconduct extended beyond DWI cases, with two employees showing up to work and appearing intoxicated. Misusing a position of authority occurred five times, making it the second most frequent conduct reviewed by the board.
Other conduct types appeared less frequently but reflected the breadth and seriousness of cases addressed by the POST Board. Sexual harassment appeared twice, while theft, providing false information, falsifying information, creating false training records, furnishing alcohol to a minor, domestic assault, intentional mishandling of evidence, excessive use-of-force, criminal vehicular operation, reckless discharge of a firearm, burglary, prescription drug abuse, malicious punishment of a child, third-degree criminal sexual conduct, describing sexual conduct to a child and production of child pornography each occurred one time.
Bryan James McKinnon, a Saint Paul officer, received a 15-day suspension following a DWI arrest in 2024. Police were called just after midnight on Aug. 1, 2024, after McKinnon crashed a 2022 Dodge Durango into a building at Third Street & Maple Street, where responding officers observed signs of impairment. He later failed field sobriety tests and a court-authorized blood draw showed an alcohol concentration of .178. McKinnon was convicted of third-degree DWI and sentenced to 10 days in jail. He was given two years of unsupervised probation and ordered to pay more than $18,000 in restitution.
Laci Silgjord, a former officer with the Cloquet Police Department, had her peace officer license revoked following a criminal charge of attempted theft by swindle. Investigators with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office determined Silgjord financially exploited a vulnerable adult she met through police calls for service, using her position as an officer and court-appointed guardian to gain unauthorized control of bank accounts and attempt to divert the woman’s estate. The investigation found Silgjord used coercion, deception and recorded conversations with the incapacitated victim to seek inflated fees and ultimately claim the entire estate, actions that led to criminal charges and the loss of her license. She was convicted of a felony and sentenced to three years of probation.
Patrick Steven Swenson, formerly with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, had his peace officer license revoked for falsifying information. An internal investigation found Swenson falsified 88 traffic stops in a logging system while working Toward Zero Deaths shifts between November 2024 and March 2025, leading to his resignation in June 2025. Swenson later acknowledged the misconduct before a disciplinary committee, admitting he knowingly entered false stops and accepting responsibility for the unethical behavior.
Lee Charles Tate, formerly with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, had his peace officer license revoked following misconduct while on duty. Records show Tate repeatedly drove a marked squad car from Minnesota to an adult-entertainment business in Grand Forks, N.D., where he removed part of his uniform and purchased aerosol intoxicants that he admitted to inhaling to cope with anxiety. After a citizen complaint and an internal investigation, Tate was placed on administrative leave and later signed a separation agreement.
Andrew Leibel, an officer with the Hermantown Police Department, received a 23-day suspension after a disciplinary finding that he intentionally mishandled evidence. An internal investigation determined Leibel failed to properly log seized illegal fireworks into evidence and instead took possession of them for personal use and destruction, conduct that also constituted theft and misuse of authority. Leibel’s chief cited his cooperation and remorse during the investigation and described the misconduct as an isolated incident.
Matthew Gear, formerly with the Leech Lake Tribal Police Department, received a 30-day suspension following findings of excessive use-of-force and policy violations. An investigation determined Gear chased and forcibly tackled a woman during a casino parking lot incident without reasonable suspicion, failed to identify himself as a peace officer and improperly arrested her, leading to citizen complaints and his termination. All criminal charges against the woman were later dismissed, and Gear later acknowledged before a disciplinary committee that he lacked reasonable suspicion and would benefit from additional training.
Daniel Siebsen had his peace officer license revoked following a case involving criminal malicious punishment of a child. Investigators determined Siebsen physically assaulted his nine-year-old son in October 2021, including pushing him to the ground, restricting his breathing and striking him, while the child reported ongoing physical and verbal abuse at home and expressed fear and suicidal thoughts. Law enforcement documented inconsistent statements from Siebsen before he admitted to striking, pushing and shoving the child, along with text messages that supported a pattern of abusive conduct. Siebsen accepted a plea to the lesser gross misdemeanor charge of contributing to the need for child protection and was sentenced to two years of probation.
Ethan Mahrer had his peace officer license revoked following a domestic assault case. Investigators determined Mahrer forced entry into his ex-girlfriend’s home in March 2024, armed himself with a handgun and made repeated statements indicating he intended to kill himself while preventing her from calling 911. The incident ended after a family member intervened. Officers located a loaded handgun inside the residence. Mahrer pled guilty to third-degree burglary in exchange for the dismissal of several other first-degree burglary charges. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail, five years of probation and was ordered to pay more than $4,700 in restitution.
Campbell Blair had his peace officer license revoked following a head-on crash that seriously injured a family traveling on Highway 95 in Afton in October 2024. Investigators determined Blair, who was wearing a Washington County Sheriff’s Office uniform, crossed the center line and struck a Ford Expedition carrying two adults and five children after witnesses reported his vehicle weaving and driving erratically for miles. A preliminary breath test showed an alcohol concentration of .092, and the crash left the driver of the Expedition with multiple fractures and injuries requiring surgery and hospitalization. Blair pled guilty to the felony charge of criminal vehicular operation causing substantial bodily harm. Several other charges were dismissed. He was sentenced to four months in jail and four years of probation.
According to data provided by the POST Board, there were a total of 36 officers in Minnesota who were disciplined through licensing actions in 2024. There were 14 total in 2023, 34 in 2022 and 16 in 2021.
