Another Emmer Staffer “In The Ditch” Story

Tom Emmer has chosen to not only make “family values” front and center in his campaign (and his campaign’s website), he made his family front and center in his advertising, too – for instance, see the photo to the right. Tom Emmer also chose to make his son Tripp a paid campaign staffer.

And just before paid campaign staffer Tripp Emmer was busted for underage consumption of alcohol, the photo to the left is where Tripp Emmer had been. Yes, gentle readers, that indeed is a strip club – “Lookers” to be exact. Now, “Lookers” is one of those clubs that don’t serve alcohol; minimum age for entrance is 18 so totally nude “dancing” is allowed. Yes, Tripp Emmer is the same paid campaign staffer who had the following photo on his personal facebook site.

The issue here is the pattern of actions of a paid campaign staffer, and son, of candidate Tom Emmer. Tom Emmer promoting his – and his family’s – “family values” yet one of his kids displayed on the campaign billboard, above, gives the “tumb’s up” to drawing penises on the face and arms of an obviously unconscious woman, and who got drunk and went to a strip club a year later. That’s some “family values” to run a campaign around, “right”?

I went up to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office yesterday, and paid for a copy of the Officer’s Reports regarding Tripp Emmer’s bust for underage drinking (drinking seems to be a pattern with Emmer’s campaign).

Here’s an excerpt; full reports – and more photographs – below the fold:

“I waited until this party was approximately five yards from us and then shined my flashlight on him and ordered him to get on the ground. This startled this person quite a bit; however, he did comply and did lay on the ground. I placed this male in hancuffs, checked the handcuffs for tightness and then secured him in the backseat of my patrol vehicle. Tis male was identified as Thomas Emmer. Emmer told me that he and his friends had left the strip club and were hiding from vehicles because the are under 21 and had been drinking.”

I
Case Number 10-6214
NCIDENT: Suspicious Activity / Minor Consumption
DATE/TIME: 07/10/10 at 0148 hours
OFFICER: Deputy (#206)
NARRATIVE: On 07/10-10 at approximately 0148 hours, Dispatch received a call from the Parkers Prairie Ambulance stating there were approximately five to seven males running southbound on State Hwy 29 from Lookers. The complaintant stated these males were running in the lane of traffic.
Deputy (#217) arrived on scene first and was able to locate one of the males; however, he stated that several others had laid down in the ditch.
I arrived on scene and Deputy (#217) informed me he had a 20-year-old intoxicated male and he’s sure he saw at least one more person with him. Deputy (#217) told me the person he had with him told him that he and his friend were lagging behind and the rest of the group was further ahead and probably back at the cabin. We searched the ditch and made several announcements for the parties to come out; however, we did not get a response. Deputy (#217) decided to attempt to have the male party with him ry to figure out where the cabin was so he could take him home.
I drove down Prairie Road a little ways and then stopped and shut off my car. I walked back to the east toward Hwy 29 where I could hear a male party calling out attempting to locate his friends. A short while later Trooper (SP133) arrived on scene and joined me walking on the roadway. We could hear what sounded like footsteps running toward us. As this party got closer, we could hear him breathing heavily and confirmed that he was running directly toward us. I waited until this party was approximately five yards from us and then shined my flashlight on him and ordered him to get on the ground. This startled this person quite a bit; however, he did comply and did lay on the ground. I placed this male in handcuffs, checked the handcuffs for tightness and then secured him the backseat of my patrol vehicle. This male was identified as Thomas Emmer. Emmer told me that he and his friends let the strip club and were hiding from vehicles because they are under 21 and had been drinking. Emmer told me he did not know the police were here. I administered a Preliminary Breath Test (PBT) to Emmer with a result of .076 alcohol content. While speaking with Emmer I detected the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage comin from his breath.
Deputy (#217) told me the individual he had in his car was having trouble locating the cabin. I advised Emmer that we needed to be able to bring him home; however, his friend was not able to point out where the cabin was located. I asked Emmer for the name of the person that owns the cabin where they are staying. He told me the cabin belongs to the family of one of his friends whose first name is Matt; however, he didn’t know his last name. I asked Emmer if he thought he would be able to direct me to the cabin and he stated, “Yes.” Emmer directed me to 6922 E Lake Carlos Drive where I observed Deputy (#217) parked in the driveway. Deputy (#217) and I were not comfortable allowing the two intoxicated males into a house that we had no way of knowing for sure that they were supposed to b there. I explained this concern to Emmer. I asked Emmer if any of his friends were over the age of 21 and he stated “No.” I told Emmer that we would have to escort him inside and make contact with someone who could verify that they were supposed to be there. I removed Emmer from the back of my patrol vehicle and removed the handcuffs. Prior to getting out of the car I issued Citation #037545 to Emmer for the offense of Minor Consumption.
Deputy (#217) and the individual he had with him, as well as Emmer and I, walked into the open garage. Emmer then entered the side door leading inside the house. I followed Emmer through this door where I observed it led to the dining room and open living room area. I observed another male, later identified as Benjamin DomJahn seated on a couch in the living room area. I approached DomJahn and asked him ID. DomJahn provided me with his ID and I confirmed that he was under the age of 21. I could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from DomJahn while he spoke.
Deputy (3217) and Trooper (SP133) later located several other minors n the house that had been consuming alcohol and escorted them to my location in the dining/living room area. While speaking with everyone I learned that they are all from the Delano area and play hockey together in Canada.
I administered a PBT to DomJahn. He provided an adequate breath sample with a result of .064 alcohol content. I issued Citation #037456 to DomJahn for the offense of Minor Consumption.
I made contact with Jacob Raskob who admitted that he had been drinking. Raskob told me he was hoping he would blow zeroes. Raskob provided an adequate breath sample into the PBT with a result of .039 alcohol content. I issued Citation #037547 to Raskob for the offense of Minor Consumption.
Deputy (#217) also issued several Minor Consumption citations. While we were at the house, DomJahn began to get upset and was complaining because he was getting into trouble and didn’t do anything wrong. I explained to DomJahn that we received a report of five to seven people running down a state highway, which will typically draw attention.
After citations were issued I advised that because no one was over the age of 21, all the alcohol in the house needed to be poured out. Severeal people protested and stated that some of the alcohol belonged to the cabin owners. I told them we ere not able to leave them with alcohol in the house. I observed Jacob Raskob and a few others to to the kitchen where they retrieved alcohol out of the fridge. I observed Raskob remove two lager liquor bottles from the fridge and place them in a large trash bag. I believe Raskob was hoping I would not see that he had not poured out the contents. I made Raskob retrieve the bottles and pour contents down thee rain.
After all the alcohol was poured down the drain, Deputy (#217), Trooper (SP133) and I cleared from the scene. See Deputy (#217)’s report for further information.
Deputy #206

Case Number 10-6214
INCIDENT: Suspicious Activity
DATE / TIME: 07/10/10 at 01448 hours
OFFICER: Deputy #217
NARRATIVE: On July 10, 2010 at 0148 hours I, Deputy (#217), was dispatched to State Hwy 29 N near Prairie Road. Parkers Prairie ambulance personnel reported they were northbound on State HWY 2 and noticed a group of people running northbound on the traffic lane. I was not too far from the area and spotted an individual walking westbound on Prairie Road near State Hwy 29. As soon as I pulled onto Prairie Road this individual went in the ditch and laid down. I pulled my squad car up to the area where I saw this individual lay down and ordered him out of the ditch advising him to come speak twith me. This individual followed my orders and did come to speak with me. The individual identified himself as Karsten Gary McGowan. Karsten appeared to be extremely intoxicated. I detected the odor of alcoholic beverage coming from Karsten and noted that his speech as extremely slurred. I asked Karsten what he was doing on the road this evening. He stated he was with a group of friends at Lookers and they decided to walk home because they were intoxicated. Karsten said he was staying at friend’s house on E Carlos Lake Drive for the weekend. I asked Karsten where the other individuals were. He said he had fallen behind because he is a slow runner and they were ahead of him. I placed Karsten in the back seat of my squad car because he was under the age of 21 and had been consuming alcohol.
Deputy (#206) arrived on scene to assist in atempting to locate the other individuals. Deputy (#206) and Trooper (SP133) looked around the area for the other individuals while I drove Karsten to the house he was supposedly staying at this weekend. It took some time for Karsten to figure out where he was staying. He was confused with his directions, but we eventually located the house he was staying at, which was 6922 E Lake Carlos Drive. Just after we found the residence, Deputy (#206) arrived with an individual he had found hiding from us as well. This individual was also under the age of 21 and had been consuming alcohol.
Karsten then walked Deputy (#206) and I to the residence so we could verify that this was the residence where they were staying this weekend and we weren’t letting them into a stranger’s house. I went downstairs nd knocked on the first door I saw. I opened the door and observed a male party sleeping in the bed. I woke him up and asked him if he was the homeowner. He stated he was not. I asked him to go upstairs and speak with Deputy (#206). The next door was locked. After knocking several times I got the door open and found an individual hiding in a sleeping bag. He was also told to go upstairs to speak with Deputy (#206). I then went back upstairs and knocked on another bedroom door. We eventually found out that this was the homeowner who was identified as Joseph James Silhacek. A female identified as Katelyn Abby Knudson accompanied Joseph in this room. We confirmed with Joseph that Karsten was staying at this residence for the weekend. We found that several of the individuals at the residence had been consuming alcohol and were under the age of 21. There were beer cans scattered all over the cabin and it appeared there had been a large party at the cabin.
The first person I administered a PBT to was Karsten McGowan. I used Deputy (#206)’ PBT Unit. Karsten provided an adequatebreath sample that resulted in a .218 reading. I issued Citation #037665 to Karsten for Minor Consumption and set a court date of August 2, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. at the Douglas County Courthouse if he chose to dispute the ticket.
The next person I administered a PBT to was Bradley Robert Lemmerman. Bradley admitted to consuming alcohol this evening. He provided an adequate breath sample that resulted in a .098 reading. I issued Citation #037666 to Bradley for Minor Consumption and set a court date of August 2, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. at the Douglas County Courthouse if he chose to dispute the ticket.
I then administered a PBT to Joseph Silhacek. Joseph admitted to consuming alcohol and provided an adequate breath sample into the PBT that resulted in a .017 reading. I issued Citation #037667 to Joseph for Minor Consumption and set a court date of August 2, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. at the Douglas County Courthouse if he chose to dispute the ticket.
I last person I administered a PBT to was Katelyn Abby Knudson. Katelyn also admitted to consuming alcohol this evening. She provided an adequate breath sample into the PBT that resulted in a .101 reading. I issued Citation #037668 to Katelyn for Minor Consumption and set a court date of August 2, 2010 at 8:30 a.m. at the Douglas County Courthouse if he chose to dispute the ticket.
See Deputy #206′s report for details regarding the individuals he cited for Minor Consumption.
We explained the citations to all of the individuals. All of the alcohol in the residence as poured down the drain. We then cleared from the residence.
Deputy #217

(Lookers Strip Club)