STILLWATER, Minn. — A veteran corrections sergeant is no longer employed by the state of Minnesota following a videotaped clash with demonstrators outside a Stillwater home last month.
An email from Minnesota Department of Corrections spokesperson Sarah Fitzgerald says simply that Paul Gorder "is no longer employed by the DOC." Fitzgerald says an investigation into complaints against Gorder is complete, but that the results or discipline against the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Stillwater sergeant will not be made public until the arbitration process is complete.
Gorder was placed on leave in late April after a video clip circulated on social media showing him and his wife shouting at protestors outside the home of Washington County Attorney Pete Orput, who was appointed as special prosecutor to handle the case of Kim Potter. Potter is the former Brooklyn Center police officer charged with second-degree manslaughter for shooting Daunte Wright during a traffic stop.
EARLIER COVERAGE: Stillwater corrections officer on leave after video shows his wife using racist slur toward protesters
Activists who are demanding murder charges against Potter, and the removal of Orput from the case, staged a protest at Orput's Stillwater home April 25. Gorder is a neighbor of the county attorney, and came to confront demonstrators. In a video later posted on Twitter, Gorder and his wife were heard shouting obscenities at the activists, and at one point Gorder's wife uses the n-word.
While Gorder was still on leave, a Maplewood hair salon announced that his wife was no longer an employee. "This behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated," read a post on the salon's Facebook page.
"The Department of Corrections is an agency with more than 4,300 employees whose skills and commitment make Minnesota safer, and I am very proud of the work being done by our staff,” said Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell Wednesday, after the news of an employment separation with Gorder was announced. “That said, when concerns about the conduct of an agency staff member arise, I am compelled to act in a manner that ensures public trust, while ensuring that the employee is afforded all the rights and protections guaranteed by law and their union’s collective bargaining agreement.”