ROLLA, N.D. — A former police chief who was fired after just three months in his role is being investigated by the FBI and state authorities for what they say were multiple violations of the law during his time serving in a north-central North Dakota police department.
Matthew Anderson, who was sworn in as Rolla police chief in April and fired by the city in July after city leaders learned he was under investigation, faces a wide range of accusations from law enforcement colleagues and investigators. Among them are that he falsified a search warrant, used a stun gun on a pregnant woman and ordered forced catheterizations of people in police custody without proper justification.
The city of Rolla fired Anderson during an eight-minute emergency hearing after learning he was under investigation by the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the FBI for allegedly breaking the law on duty. In August, the North Dakota Peace Officer Standards and Training Board would strip Anderson of his law enforcement license.
The Rolette County State's Attorney Office and BCI ramped up their investigation after a Rolla police officer approached a BCI agent at training and asked if he knew that then-chief Anderson had wrecked two cruisers in crashes, BCI investigator Craig Zachmeier told the North Dakota POST Board at an Aug. 21 meeting.
Zachmeier found that the repair bills for the crashes topped $4,000 and that Anderson never reported them, which is required by law. Throughout the course of his investigation, Zachmeier also learned that the police chief may have violated legal procedures while doing police work and was under investigation by the FBI for possible civil rights violations.
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The Rolette County State's Attorney's Office said that Anderson is also accused of using excessive force while on duty. Rolette County Sheriff Nathan Gustafson said that Anderson used a stun gun multiple times on a pregnant woman who refused to leave an apartment, according to the BCI's report.
The report also said that the FBI learned that Anderson ordered a catheter to be used on a 16-year-old girl to take a urine sample after he became upset with her for giving him a false name. The FBI said that Anderson gave false information to staff and other law enforcement officers to convince them that it was legal to place a catheter and then assisted staff in holding the girl down as they placed it, the report said.
It wasn't the first time Anderson had been accused of taking urine samples by catheter without a warrant, Zachmeier told the state's peace officer standards board in August.
"We found two more victims who were catheterized at the direction of chief Anderson," he said. "On none of those occasions did he have a court order or a search warrant or any reason to get the catheter."
The BCI also noted in its report what it describes as a pattern of dishonesty on the part of Anderson — including falsifying a search warrant and illegally using a man as a confidential informant during a drug investigation.
“(He) basically said (the man) had to do a controlled buy, pulled him into a side room (and) told him if he doesn't give me that urine sample I'm going to put a catheter on you,” Zachmeier said.
In exchange for his cooperation, Anderson told the man he would make a pending domestic assault case go away, according to the BCI's report.
“He signed a piece of paper — that I have not been able to locate — that says 'if you do this I am going to drop all the charges,' " Zachmeier said.
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Zachmeier also told the board that there was a member of the Rolla Police Department who thought he was an officer but was not licensed. Anderson never turned in the paperwork for the officer, according to Zachmeier, who said that the officer was patrolling, stopping cars, making arrests and responding to calls without supervision.
Anderson said on Tuesday, Oct. 22, that on the advice of his lawyer he couldn't comment on any of the allegations, but said he is looking forward to sharing his side of the story.
"My time with Rolla and the residents with Rolla was a wonderful time, and I still thank the city for giving me the opportunity," he said. "I am trying to look at it as a positive experience in life."
Prior to working in Rolla, Anderson worked as a deputy in the Adams County Sheriff's Office in southwest North Dakota. According to his application for a job with the Rolla Police Department, Anderson said he was looking for more opportunities because the county was eliminating a deputy position.
BCI investigators said Anderson resigned from his position in Adams County after damaging a patrol car and being questioned about it by his former boss, Sheriff Travis Collins.
