PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg has complied with a request from four law enforcement agencies to refrain from evaluating police use-of-force incidents while he’s under investigation for fatally hitting a man with his car.
The request from the Rapid City and Sioux Falls police departments and Pennington and Minnehaha County sheriff offices was approved by the South Dakota police and sheriff associations.
“The attorney general then and still is under investigation for a death of an individual and we didn’t want any doubt cast on the investigation of an officer-involved shooting,” said Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom.
It appears to be the only work duty Ravnsborg has given up since fatally hitting Joe Boever with his car on Sept. 12, 2020, the Rapid City Journal reported.
“Since the attorney general is currently involved in a separate investigation, the Chiefs’ Association agreed it would be appropriate to seek out another office for the final review of any DCI investigation into an officer-involved shooting,” said Police Chief Don Hedrick.
Ravnsborg has continued to work on lawsuits and attend the the Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training Commission. He served as an elector for President Donald Trump during the Dec. 14 electoral college vote and has recently been testifying about bills at the Capitol.
Ravnsborg said he thought he hit a deer and only realized he hit and killed a person when he came across Boever’s body while returning the Hyde County sheriff’s personal vehicle the next morning.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.