Fourteen current and former police officers with the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) have signed sworn declarations that say they believe MPD Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell perjured herself when testifying in former MPD officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial.
Over a dozen current and former officers say they believe MPD’s Katie Blackwell perjured herself during Derek Chauvin trial.
From Law Officer via Alpha News
“Every MPD officer knows that restraint was trained, and every MPD officer knows it was trained as part of the MRT process,” current and former MPD officers said in sworn declarations.
Specifically, the group of former officers say they believe Blackwell perjured herself when she testified in court that the restraint method Chauvin used to subdue George Floyd in May 2020 was not a part of MPD officer training. In that trial, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
However, many say the knee-on-neck restraint Chauvin employed was trained under the maximal-restraint technique (MRT), a restraint the MPD taught and allowed until 2023.
Those 14 statements were among dozens of declarations submitted by lawyers representing Alpha News in a defamation lawsuit brought by Blackwell last October against Alpha News, Alpha News reporter Liz Collin, producer J.C. Chaix, and a publishing company. In her lawsuit, Blackwell alleged that the Alpha News documentary film The Fall of Minneapolis and a book authored by Collin wrongly accused Blackwell of lying.
This week, lawyers for Alpha News filed a 113-page motion with 592 footnotes to have the case dismissed with prejudice.
“With this motion, 33 former MPD officers who served with Blackwell, and one who currently serves with her, have sworn that MPD trained this restraint as part of the ‘maximal-restraint technique’ (‘MRT’) and otherwise. Indeed, 14 of these officers have sworn—under oath—their belief that Blackwell perjured herself,” wrote attorney Chris Madel in this week’s motion.
These officers, according to the motion, “swore that this training was well known—indeed, common knowledge—and omnipresent.”
“Blackwell remarkably claims that Collin and Chaix defamed her when they opined that it ‘seemed’ like Blackwell lied. In reality, this opinion was far more generous than necessary. It is a fact,” says the motion.
“The heartfelt support that numerous Minneapolis police officers, current and former, have shown our clients has deeply moved and humbled all of us,” Madel said in a statement. “It is emblematic of the courage they have shown us every day.”
Current and former MPD officers say they believe Blackwell perjured herself
Former MPD officer Ken Tidgwell was among the former law enforcement officers who signed a declaration saying he believes Blackwell perjured herself.
A former patrol sergeant and member of the Minneapolis Police Honor and Color Guards, Tidgwell wrote that he nearly lost a leg from an injury he sustained during the riots that followed Floyd’s death.
Tidgwell said he was trained to use the MRT when he was a member of the MPD. Further, Tidgwell stated that the MRT includes a knee-to-neck/upper shoulder restraint.
“Specifically, we were trained that when two officers were trying to handcuff a person that was resisting arrest, one officer should use his or her knee to employ a knee-to-neck/upper shoulder restraint to control the subject’s head, and the other knee should be used to control one of the subject’s arms during handcuffing.”
Describing how Blackwell said “that’s not what we train” when examining images of Chauvin restraining Floyd, Tidgwell wrote:
“If by ‘we’ Katie Blackwell referred to the MPD, then I believe that she perjured herself. Every MPD officer knows that restraint was trained, and every MPD officer knows it was trained as part of the MRT process. We were trained that ‘where the head goes, the body will follow.’”
The former patrol sergeant also mentioned that he and another member of MPD put together a “virtual museum” of the department. This museum chronicles over 100 years of department history with various photos and documents. In his declaration, Tidgwell produced a photo from the museum project which depicts Blackwell arresting a man in 2014.
“It appears that Katie Blackwell was employing the knee-to-neck/upper shoulder restraint that I described in this declaration in the picture I included in paragraph 5 above,” wrote Tidgwell.
Mark Kaspszak, a current MPD officer who has been with the department for nearly 30 years, also signed a declaration saying he believes Blackwell perjured herself when she testified about the restraint method used by Chauvin.
Kaspszak and Tidgwell used similar language when discussing Blackwell’s testimony and the MRT. However, Kaspszak closed his declaration by stating the following:
“I know that other current Minneapolis Police Officers would agree with everything I have said in this declaration but are worried that if they sign a similar declaration, MPD senior leadership would retaliate against them—even for telling the truth. I weighed that possibility with respect to my participation in this lawsuit and signing this declaration. I decided to sign this declaration because (a) I am retiring soon, and I asked myself, ‘What can they do to me anymore?’; and (b) it is the right thing to do. I have just told the truth.”
Another former officer, Anna Hansen, wrote that her immediate reaction to Blackwell’s testimony during Chauvin’s trial was that “Blackwell was lying about MPD training.”
Public concern declarations
The motion to dismiss was filed under Minnesota’s newly enacted Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, otherwise known as UPEPA. The bipartisan law was enacted to protect First-Amendment rights. According to the motion papers, in order for UPEPA to apply, the defendant must prove that the underlying claims are a “matter of public concern.”
To prove this, Alpha News, Collin, and Chaix submitted multiple declarations from elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach, U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad, Minnesota Sen. Mark Johnson, and Minnesota Rep. Harry Niska. Brian Peters, the executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA), filed a five-page declaration. The chairman of the Center of the American Experiment, Ron Eibensteiner, and its former director of media studies, Corey Miltimore, also submitted declarations, along with former Minnesota attorney general candidate Jim Schultz.
Each of these individuals described how The Fall of Minneapolis dealt with a matter of public concern. Fischbach wrote how Floyd’s death also “led to a war on law enforcement,” including “anti-cop rhetoric; physical attacks on police officers; and calls to ‘defund the Police’ from policymakers, media members, nonprofits, and the public.” Finstad noted that he watched The Fall of Minneapolis, and that “Regardless of your political views, The Fall of Minneapolis clearly concerns matters of public concern.”
When asked if other elected officials were asked but refused to provide declarations, Madel said, “I’m not talking about that—yet.”
A total of 49 declarations were filed with the court by Alpha News’ attorneys from various police officers, law enforcement experts, and public officials.
Alpha News reached out to Blackwell’s attorney and the Minneapolis Police Department for comment.
“Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell exemplifies the unparalleled character and integrity that exists within the Minneapolis Police Department. I have absolute and unwavering confidence in her leadership. Her honesty, courage, and thoughtfulness are evident in every decision she makes, and she is a model for what ethical and courageous leadership looks like,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said in a statement provided to Alpha News.
Alpha News has also requested interviews with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Chief O’Hara, and Blackwell regarding the lawsuit but has not received a response to those requests.
“If you accuse my friends of lying, you’d better bring receipts,” Madel commented. “This is what it feels like when you don’t.”
Read the full motion here.
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Derek Chauvin did not cause in any way George Floyd’s death — this was entirely a media circus exacerbated by a mayor and governor who cheered with Minneapolis burned. George Floyd died of a fentanyl overdose complicated by his existing heart condition and serious overweight.
He was not detained because of one $20 bogus bill — that would be a misdemeanor and could have even been accidental (or were the media lying and he had an entire wallet full of these bills)?). He was detained because he was so high he was incoherent — for his own protection. NOBODY wanted Floyd to die that day — least of all the Minneapolis police. Chauvin should be released from prison, reinstalled with back pay and allowed to retire with honors.
DEI hires/promotions like Blackwell are destroying our country’s law enforcement agencies and their effectiveness.
Every cop in Minneapolis knew she lied in her testimony and years later 14 are standing up. The video looked terrible but when the full truth is told Chauvin doesn’t belong in prison or ever being convicted of murder. The real disappointment is that more cops didn’t stand up for the truth.
Charge her with perjury and Chauvin should sue her for millions. The suffering caused by her and some others lying under oath is immense.
Thanks for helping out, fantastic info. “You must do the things you think you cannot do.” by Eleanor Roosevelt.