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Man who accused officers of assault denies he's an informant
A 25-year-old man who has accused two Minneapolis police officers of sexual assault denied Friday that he is a police informant and asked his friends to stay by his side.
Stephen Porter said that although he was approached in 1999 by a Minneapolis officer to work as an informant on a criminal case, he refused.
"I'm not an informant, never will be," he said Friday at a news conference.
The Star Tribune reported Friday that sources said that Porter was a confidential informant for Jeffrey Jindra. Porter has asserted that Jindra assaulted him by placing a toilet plunger handle up his rectum during a drug raid Monday.
The allegations stunned the city and heightened already strained relations between the Police Department and community members.
Arrest records kept by the department indicate that Porter has tried to help himself by offering several times to assist police, including once as recently as June 4. According to records of that drug arrest, Porter told police, "Gimme a break and I will get you some good buys." He wasn't charged in that incident on E. Franklin Avenue.
Spike Moss, vice president of The City Inc., an alternative education center on the North Side, lambasted the media Friday for reporting that Porter was a confidential informant for Jindra.
"Why would you participate in a setup to get him killed?" Moss asked.
Porter's accusation of sexual assault was made public Tuesday after Chief Robert Olson suspended Jindra and officer Todd Babekuhl and turned the case over to the FBI. On Friday, the FBI interviewed several officers involved in the raid.
Police Lt. Dale Barsness, who was with Porter at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis when he was examined after the raid, said Friday that Porter hadn't complained about being in pain on Monday night.
A source familiar with the medical report filled out by a doctor who examined Porter at the hospital said that his injuries were consistent with the soreness and tenderness of the rectum that he had reported. Barsness said that he didn't see the exam report but that Porter wasn't acting "like he was in the least bit of pain."
"He was walking down the hall and jumping easily on and off gurneys," said Barsness, who talked with Porter for more than 45 minutes about sports and his hometown of Detroit.
After Barsness was told by a jail supervisor about Porter's allegation, he called Olson to "get him on board immediately." Olson said that he turned the case over to the FBI quickly based on a preliminary report that was on his desk before he arrived at work the next day.
Olson said Friday that the allegation was one of the most serious he's heard in his nine years as Minneapolis police chief. The allegation's credibility "wasn't just based on Porter's word," he said. He declined to say what else it was based on.
As the investigation continues, some community members have speculated that the allegation may have been copied from an Oct. 10 repeat episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" about a police officer who assaulted a drug dealer with a toilet plunger.
Even Olson said a "little voice inside me made me wonder if this guy," referring to Porter, "wasn't clever enough to work a scam after seeing the show." If he was a snitch, Olson said, he would know how to manipulate the system.
But Olson has made it clear that if the assault allegation is true, there would be criminal consequences.
"If this officer did these allegations, I'm going to put him in the penitentiary," he said Friday.
About 250 people attended a community meeting with Mayor R.T. Rybak on Friday night, venting frustration with leaders over police issues and the reports that Porter was an informant.
The sexual assault allegation has set off a series of news conferences by police and community activists. Porter spoke briefly at one held Friday at The City Inc. When he was asked about his medical condition and whether he's received treatment, Moss said that they wouldn't discuss Porter's medical history. Porter entered the news conference walking with a limp.
Porter said his friends no longer talk to him. He also said that he wants his friends to believe his word.
"Stick with me, I need you," he said.
In an interview before the news conference, the Rev. Randolph Staten of the Coalition of Black Churches said that naming Porter as an informant put him in danger and will inhibit other people from helping police to solve crimes.
Keith Ellison, Porter's attorney, said Friday night that his client is in hiding.
Star Tribune Editor Anders Gyllenhaal said, "When we learned that Stephen Porter had been a confidential informant, we understood that it was sensitive information. But we did not feel we'd be doing our job if we failed to include that along with everything else."
Scott Gillespie, Star Tribune managing editor, said the newspaper had multiple sources for its story and stands by its accuracy. He declined to talk about how the newspaper got the information that Porter was an informant.
Editors discussed the possible risk to Porter, including physical risk, Gillespie said.
Staten alleged that the Police Department had leaked the information that Porter was an informant. Department spokesman Ron Reier declined to respond to the comment. However, Sgt. John Delmonico, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, challenged Staten to bring their complaint forward to the department to be investigated.
Porter acknowledged that he'd led a criminal lifestyle in the past but said that is over.
He has had four drug convictions and is waiting to be sentenced in connection with a cocaine possession arrest in January.
In another incident, on Bryant Avenue N. in July 1997, which led to a felony possession charge, Porter led police on a brief chase into a stranger's home. He was arrested with crack and cash, and on the way to jail, he offered to direct officers to a kilo of cocaine he had seen only 20 minutes earlier, records said.
One officer's report indicates that he told Porter not to make any statements about any drugs he had at the time, the report said. Porter pleaded guilty in that case and served a year in the Hennepin County workhouse.
"I'm no angel," Porter said. "What I did in my past is in my past."
Porter was arrested Monday after a drug raid at an apartment in the 2500 block of N. 3rd St. Because of information about potential gang activity, a high-risk entry team went in first and handcuffed everybody in the apartment.
Porter had been sitting on the porch but ran inside when he saw police. He was already in plastic handcuffs before Jindra, 43, and Babekuhl, 41, entered the apartment.
Drugs were found in a toilet, which was smashed open. No drugs were found on Porter, and he was later released from jail without charges. Babekuhl was one of two officers who drove him to jail.
A news release from The City Inc. said that Porter was given a full body-cavity search by the suspended officers. Jim Michels, Babekuhl's attorney, denied the allegation. An attorney for Jindra has also denied the assault allegation.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4161455.html
Man who accused officers of assault denies he's an informant
A 25-year-old man who has accused two Minneapolis police officers of sexual assault denied Friday that he is a police informant and asked his friends to stay by his side.
Stephen Porter said that although he was approached in 1999 by a Minneapolis officer to work as an informant on a criminal case, he refused.
"I'm not an informant, never will be," he said Friday at a news conference.
The Star Tribune reported Friday that sources said that Porter was a confidential informant for Jeffrey Jindra. Porter has asserted that Jindra assaulted him by placing a toilet plunger handle up his rectum during a drug raid Monday.
The allegations stunned the city and heightened already strained relations between the Police Department and community members.
Arrest records kept by the department indicate that Porter has tried to help himself by offering several times to assist police, including once as recently as June 4. According to records of that drug arrest, Porter told police, "Gimme a break and I will get you some good buys." He wasn't charged in that incident on E. Franklin Avenue.
Spike Moss, vice president of The City Inc., an alternative education center on the North Side, lambasted the media Friday for reporting that Porter was a confidential informant for Jindra.
"Why would you participate in a setup to get him killed?" Moss asked.
Porter's accusation of sexual assault was made public Tuesday after Chief Robert Olson suspended Jindra and officer Todd Babekuhl and turned the case over to the FBI. On Friday, the FBI interviewed several officers involved in the raid.
Police Lt. Dale Barsness, who was with Porter at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis when he was examined after the raid, said Friday that Porter hadn't complained about being in pain on Monday night.
A source familiar with the medical report filled out by a doctor who examined Porter at the hospital said that his injuries were consistent with the soreness and tenderness of the rectum that he had reported. Barsness said that he didn't see the exam report but that Porter wasn't acting "like he was in the least bit of pain."
"He was walking down the hall and jumping easily on and off gurneys," said Barsness, who talked with Porter for more than 45 minutes about sports and his hometown of Detroit.
After Barsness was told by a jail supervisor about Porter's allegation, he called Olson to "get him on board immediately." Olson said that he turned the case over to the FBI quickly based on a preliminary report that was on his desk before he arrived at work the next day.
Olson said Friday that the allegation was one of the most serious he's heard in his nine years as Minneapolis police chief. The allegation's credibility "wasn't just based on Porter's word," he said. He declined to say what else it was based on.
As the investigation continues, some community members have speculated that the allegation may have been copied from an Oct. 10 repeat episode of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" about a police officer who assaulted a drug dealer with a toilet plunger.
Even Olson said a "little voice inside me made me wonder if this guy," referring to Porter, "wasn't clever enough to work a scam after seeing the show." If he was a snitch, Olson said, he would know how to manipulate the system.
But Olson has made it clear that if the assault allegation is true, there would be criminal consequences.
"If this officer did these allegations, I'm going to put him in the penitentiary," he said Friday.
About 250 people attended a community meeting with Mayor R.T. Rybak on Friday night, venting frustration with leaders over police issues and the reports that Porter was an informant.
The sexual assault allegation has set off a series of news conferences by police and community activists. Porter spoke briefly at one held Friday at The City Inc. When he was asked about his medical condition and whether he's received treatment, Moss said that they wouldn't discuss Porter's medical history. Porter entered the news conference walking with a limp.
Porter said his friends no longer talk to him. He also said that he wants his friends to believe his word.
"Stick with me, I need you," he said.
In an interview before the news conference, the Rev. Randolph Staten of the Coalition of Black Churches said that naming Porter as an informant put him in danger and will inhibit other people from helping police to solve crimes.
Keith Ellison, Porter's attorney, said Friday night that his client is in hiding.
Star Tribune Editor Anders Gyllenhaal said, "When we learned that Stephen Porter had been a confidential informant, we understood that it was sensitive information. But we did not feel we'd be doing our job if we failed to include that along with everything else."
Scott Gillespie, Star Tribune managing editor, said the newspaper had multiple sources for its story and stands by its accuracy. He declined to talk about how the newspaper got the information that Porter was an informant.
Editors discussed the possible risk to Porter, including physical risk, Gillespie said.
Staten alleged that the Police Department had leaked the information that Porter was an informant. Department spokesman Ron Reier declined to respond to the comment. However, Sgt. John Delmonico, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, challenged Staten to bring their complaint forward to the department to be investigated.
Porter acknowledged that he'd led a criminal lifestyle in the past but said that is over.
He has had four drug convictions and is waiting to be sentenced in connection with a cocaine possession arrest in January.
In another incident, on Bryant Avenue N. in July 1997, which led to a felony possession charge, Porter led police on a brief chase into a stranger's home. He was arrested with crack and cash, and on the way to jail, he offered to direct officers to a kilo of cocaine he had seen only 20 minutes earlier, records said.
One officer's report indicates that he told Porter not to make any statements about any drugs he had at the time, the report said. Porter pleaded guilty in that case and served a year in the Hennepin County workhouse.
"I'm no angel," Porter said. "What I did in my past is in my past."
Porter was arrested Monday after a drug raid at an apartment in the 2500 block of N. 3rd St. Because of information about potential gang activity, a high-risk entry team went in first and handcuffed everybody in the apartment.
Porter had been sitting on the porch but ran inside when he saw police. He was already in plastic handcuffs before Jindra, 43, and Babekuhl, 41, entered the apartment.
Drugs were found in a toilet, which was smashed open. No drugs were found on Porter, and he was later released from jail without charges. Babekuhl was one of two officers who drove him to jail.
A news release from The City Inc. said that Porter was given a full body-cavity search by the suspended officers. Jim Michels, Babekuhl's attorney, denied the allegation. An attorney for Jindra has also denied the assault allegation.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4161455.html
