Minnesota Police Officer Cleared in Defamation Case
FOLEY, Minn. (AP) — A jury has found a former Sauk Rapids sergeant did not defame a man arrested but never charged in the slaying of a police officer.
Ryan Larson sued Tom Roy after the sergeant posted online about the fatal shooting of Cold Spring Officer Tom Decker. Roy said the person that was held in custody for four days was far from innocent, referring to, but not naming Larson. The St. Cloud Times reports a Benton County jury Tuesday evening ruled Larson was not defamed.
A jury in Hennepin County reached the same conclusion last year after Larson sued the Times and KARE-TV.
Decker was fatally shot in 2012 when he went to check on Larson's welfare in Cold Spring. Police later questioned another man and said they had gathered enough evidence to arrest him when he killed himself.