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No charges in Purvis case

By Staff | Feb 9, 2014

A Blue Earth police officer will not be criminally charged, according to information obtained by the Faribault County Register last week.

Cottonwood County Attorney Nick Anderson says a criminal investigation of Blue Earth police officer Todd Purvis has been concluded and the county attorney will not be filing any criminal charges against Purvis.

Anderson declined to identify the nature of the investigation and also declined the Register’s request for a copy of the report, citing the state’s data practices act.

The Faribault County Sheriff’s office had contacted the Cottonwood County Sheriff’s office concerning conducting the criminal investigation.

It is standard procedure to have an outside agency conduct the investigation when it involves a local law enforcement officer, Faribault County Sheriff Mike Gormley says.

“After the investigation it is up to that outside agency to determine what, if any charges should be filed,” Gormley says. “Not us. And any charges would have been filed in Cottonwood County by their county attorney.”

Despite the conclusion of the criminal investigation, Purvis remains on paid administrative leave from his law enforcement position with the city, pending another investigation ordered by the City Council.

At their Jan. 20 meeting, the council voted both to place Purvis on paid administrative leave and to have an investigation into allegations against the officer.

City administrator Kathy Bailey says the city’s investigation, which will also be conducted by an outside agency, is still in the planning stages and could take some time to complete.

City attorney David Frundt says the investigation has to do with a written complaint received by the city, but he did not release any other details at this time.

He said the city’s investigation is wholly separate from the criminal investigation that was authorized by the Faribault County Sheriff’s office and conducted by officers of the court in Cottonwood County.