St. Paul is on the hook for $185,000 after a federal judge found three officers violated a man’s constitutional rights by entering his apartment without a warrant, and arresting and searching him.

A jury awarded $29,500 to David Elgersma in a September civil trial. The City Council voted on Wednesday to approve a $155,500 settlement that was negotiated separately for Elgersma’s attorney’s legal fees.

“We hope this outcome encourages more substantial training and accountability measures to prevent similar unlawful acts in the future,” Tim Phillips, the attorney who represented Elgersma, said Wednesday.

Because Elgersma prevailed on his claims that the officers and the city violated his federal civil rights, he was allowed to petition the court for reasonable attorneys’ fees and litigation costs.

“Though the city would have the right to dispute the amount of the fees, or argue that no fees should be awarded, a fee award is ordinarily granted to prevailing parties in civil rights actions like this one,” said Portia Hampton-Flowers, St. Paul chief deputy city attorney in charge of the civil litigation division.

From arrest to lawsuit

Elgersma had served as treasurer and president of the Minnesota Students’ Cooperative, which owns and operates homes near the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul campus. He believed — and it would later turn out he was correct — that the property manager’s financial manager was stealing money from the housing cooperative, Phillips told jurors.

Elgersma transferred money from the housing cooperative account to his personal account “to keep it safe” from the financial manager and didn’t spend it, Phillips said in court.

Meanwhile, the financial manager filed a police report in St. Paul saying money had been transferred out of the co-op account to Elgersma. Sgt. Heather Weyker was assigned to investigate. After collecting information, she made plans to arrest Elgersma and she, Sgt. Lynette Cherry and Sgt. Christopher Hansen went to Elgersma’s apartment building in Maplewood in July 2019.

A maintenance man knocked on Elgersma’s door under the pretense that there was a water leak, which the officers agreed to. When Elgersma opened the door, the plainclothes officers quickly went in and handcuffed Elgersma. They patted him down and did a cursory search of his apartment.

Weyker could be heard saying to Elgersma in body-camera video, “This could have been done much easier if you would have kept our appointment. Do you believe me now?” Elgersma responded, “Yeah.”

Assistant City Attorney Tony Edwards pointed out to jurors that the officers’ cameras showed they carried out the arrest with no force, threats or raised voices.

Still, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez ruled the officers’ actions were unlawful: They didn’t announce themselves as police when they went in the apartment, entered without permission and then asked if they could chat with Elgersma after they were already inside.

Weyker previously came under scrutiny for her investigation into what was described as a multi-state juvenile sex-trafficking operation. The case fell apart and multiple lawsuits were filed against her, but they didn’t move forward because Weyker was deputized as a federal agent for the investigation and federal officers have immunity protections.

Related Articles

Bryce Borca’s parents say son’s disappearance in Eagan has been ‘hardest year of our lives’

From meeting his wife to rescuing a child in a pond, retiring St. Anthony fire chief ‘grateful’ to serve hometown

Arrest made in Halloween weekend’s fatal shooting of 2 in Tampa; 18 more victims injured

Drug Takeback Day provides a place to safely dispose of unwanted medication, syringes

Man found dead in marshy area off St. Paul freeway had been reported missing