Three South Dakota Police Associations Join Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg’s Resignation Request
SIOUX FALLS, SD – On Friday, three South Dakota law enforcement groups joined the call for Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg to resign, saying his involvement in a September accident that left a man dead went resulting in a lack of confidence.
This week, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem urged Ravnsborg to step down and Secretary of State for Public Safety Craig Price spoke out in support of an effort to prosecute Ravnsborg, the chief executive of the application. of state law.
On Friday, the South Dakota Police Fraternal Order, the South Dakota Police Chiefs Association and the South Dakota Sheriffs Association issued a joint statement stating that Ravnsborg’s involvement in the death of Joseph Boever “has caused a lack of confidence in his ability to effectively carry out his duties as head of law enforcement in South Dakota.”
The statement echoed Price’s comment Thursday that law enforcement “maintaining public confidence is critical.”
A 44-year-old Ravnsborg spokesman said he had no intention of leaving office. Ravnsborg has been charged with three misdemeanors in the crash that killed the 55-year-old.
Ravnsborg, a Republican, initially told authorities he thought he had hit a deer or other large animal when he was heading towards Pierre from the Republican fundraiser in late September 12th. He said he searched the area lit up with a cell phone flashlight and did not realize he had killed a man the next day, when he returned to the scene of the crash in US 14 near Highmore .
After an investigation that lasted for five months, prosecutors accused him of driving carelessly, getting out of his lane and operating a motor vehicle while on his phone.
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety released videos in which investigators said Boever’s glasses were inside Ravnsborg’s car and that “his face was on your windshield, Jason.”
The South Dakota Police Fraternal Order is a union that represents all levels of law enforcement and local, county, and state agencies. The sheriff association includes the county’s 66 sheriff’s offices and is a statewide network of sheriffs. The Police Chiefs Association is made up of most police chiefs and their command statuses statewide.