The Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association and the state Department of Corrections are each accusing the other of failing to work together on issues relating to county jail inspections and licensing across the state.
The association includes the sheriffs from each of Minnesota’s 87 counties. It says an “overwhelming” majority of its members voted earlier this month in support of a resolution calling on Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell to resign, or be removed from his position.
The group claims that under Schnell’s leadership the department has been making “arbitrary and capricious decisions” in its oversight of county jails. The association said the actions have been costly and burdensome — without making those facilities safer. It also says that DOC leadership is “unwilling to work with the elected sheriffs of Minnesota.”
“Under the Commissioner and Jail Enforcement managers, the DOC has clearly changed from a supportive and assisting partner that helps counties run well-managed jails to the use of heavy handed and draconian sanctions to impose the personal whims and preferences of some DOC staff on how they think jails should be run,” Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association legal counsel Richard Hodsdon said in a statement.
In its own statement in response, the Department of Corrections disputed those claims. The agency said saying its actions are “rooted in law, supported by documentation and driven by the obligation to prevent harm, protect life, and reduce legal and financial risk to counties and the state. When deficiencies rise to the level of serious risk, DOC has a duty to act.”
The DOC statement also said the department previously worked “productively and in good faith” with the sheriffs’ association — but claimed “that level of constructive participation has not occurred under the current leadership at MSA, despite sustained outreach and repeated attempts to meaningfully engage as partners in public safety.”
Schnell has led the Department of Corrections since DFL Gov. Tim Walz took office in 2019. He previously served as a police chief in Inver Grove Heights, Maplewood and Hastings, among other positions in law enforcement and community-based corrections.
But his confirmation vote from the start of Walz’s second term has been pending in the state Senate for nearly three years. At least one Republican lawmaker — state Sen. Michael Kreun of Blaine — is now calling on that vote to happen when the Legislature reconvenes next year.
James Stuart, a former Anoka County sheriff and current executive director of the Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association, was nominated by the White House earlier this year to serve as U.S. marshal for Minnesota.