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Rogers Police Chief, Sergeant On Paid Administrative Leave

By Rachel Slavik, WCCO-TV

ROGERS (WCCO) -- The Rogers Police Chief and a police sergeant are on paid administrative leave, following an investigation.

Chief Jeff Luther was placed on paid leave at 5p.m. Thursday. Sgt. Joleen Pitts was placed on leave at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

City leaders aren't giving any information on this case stating in a letter, "Because this matter involves private personnel data, the City is precluded by the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act from commenting further."

"The investigation is ongoing so there's no comment I can make about it," said Captain Scott Fildes of the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office.

To avoid a conflict of interest, on Wednesday, Rogers city leaders turned to an outside agency, the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office, and requested them to conduct an investigation on their behalf.

A city councilor said Luther had been on the job about two years, but did not know how long Luther or Pitts have actually been on the force.

Rogers has a fairly small police department with approximately 13 officers, so the absence of two is noticeable.

Captain Mike Miller will serve as the acting chief while Luther is on leave.

Luther was a veteran Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent for almost 25 years before becoming Rogers police chief in July 2008.

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