Jessica Stölen
Editor
jstolen-jacobson@cherryroad.com

A crowd gathered at last Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Montevideo City Council to express their concern over the handling of an incident that occurred on the morning of Sunday, September 1st. The incident that occurred in front of a bar downtown resulted in three individuals being injured and taken to local and regional hospitals. The incident was under investigation by the Montevideo Police Department with assistance from the CCIV Drug and Gang Task Force and Minnesota BCA.

On Tuesday, September 3rd, the Montevideo Police Department issued a press release on their social media page, stating that they were dispatched to Inn Like Flinns for what was described as a fight at 2:30 a.m. The press release stated, “Upon officers arrival they located an unconscious male outside of Inn Like Flinns bar laying on the street who had a laceration. CCM Ambulance was paged and transported this individual to their facility where he was later flown out to another medical facility. Officers were later informed by CCM Health that two more individuals arrived by private vehicle at their facility with laceration wounds. Officers determined these individuals were involved in the same fighting incident. One of the individuals who arrived was also flown out to another medical facility while the other was treated at CCM Health.”

The concerns brought to Tuesday evening’s council meeting were not just for the timeliness of the Montevideo Police Department issuing a press release days after the incident occurred, but the security of the bars downtown.

”We are wondering if there’s going to be any security measures put in place for Flinns to continue to hold a liquor license,” said community member Bailie Rojas, who took the podium to speak.

Some of the suggested measures introduced by Rojas included security cameras on the streets downtown, as well as the possibility of a security guard downtown.

“A second concern is wondering why the police department is treating this with such a lack of concern instead of the incident it was as it could have easily been a triple homicide,” Rojas said. “And why wasn’t the public made aware of the situation immediately because there clearly is still a threat to the public?”

Council Chair Nathan Schmidt responded, saying, “I appreciate you coming before us and we did get a brief synopsis of what happened. There was a news release that was released today. It is an ongoing investigation as to anything else that could be done there really isn’t a whole lot we could do tonight with this being an add on but I do appreciate all of you coming in with your concerns. None of us on council are taking this lightly.”

Council member Dan Sanborn also spoke about the idea of cameras, noting, “It was brought up before council two to three months ago – maybe longer – a proposal from our police department to put cameras on our main street. There’s a ton of legalities on that – it’s not something that can be done overnight. The cost is astronomical. Who is going to pay for that? I understand everybody’s concern and needing answers. We all want that. Us people who were elected want answers.”

A member of the audience asked if there would be a possibility of requiring establishments to have a security plan in place to obtain a liquor license.

Sanborn asked City Attorney Jan Nelson if it was something that could be put in place. Nelson noted the council could have some conditions involving security in place to obtain a liquor license.

Council member Schmidt reiterated that there would be no action at that council meeting. “Believe me, we’re trying to get to the bottom of everything that happened but as far as tonight goes there will no action being taken one way or another with it just being brought up,” he said.

A member of the audience asked if the license could be pulled now.

Attorney Nelson noted that the City can’t pull a liquor license based off what has happened so far. “We have to see the results of the investigation. At this point we don’t know even what happened or even whose fault it was,” she said.

On Thursday, the City of Montevideo issued a press release to media and on their own social media page. In the press release, the City along with the Montevideo Police Department provided an update on the incident, stating that both agencies “take the safety and security of the people of Montevideo very seriously.”

The press release also noted that the City is reviewing its practices for providing updates on incidents related to public safety and has plans to set new policies to provide a better sense of transparency for residents. “During an investigation like this, it is challenging to balance and investigation and the public’s desire and need for updates. It’s a balance we’re still trying to meet,” the press release stated. “We will do our best to provide updates to incidents whenever possible. Delays in information may be due to the sensitivity of an investigation, but we will do our best to provide information in as timely a manner as we can. Additionally, to increase that transparency, we are exploring the best method of releasing out weekly incident logs. We’re working with our local media in an effort to distribute these logs as well as other ways we can get this information to the public.”

On Saturday, September 7, the Montevideo Police Department issued another press release with an update on what they titled an “assault”. The press release stated that the Montevideo Police Department with assistance from the CEE VI Drug and Gang Task Force executed a search warrant on a residence in Montevideo that led to the arrest of another suspect. “There are a total of four suspects in custody at this time and the most recently arrested individuals should have their first court appearances the week of 9/9/24. This is still an open investigation and the Montevideo Police Department is looking for new information. We are still trying to identify a male that was wearing a blue and yellow shirt the night this incident took place.”

Anyone who has additional information is encouraged to contact the Montevideo Police Department at 320-269-8808.