HF 1661

1st Engrossment - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to crimes; prohibiting falsely reporting 
  1.3             police misconduct; providing penalties; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 609.505. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 609.505, is 
  1.7   amended to read: 
  1.8      609.505 [FALSELY REPORTING CRIME.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [FALSE REPORTING.] Whoever informs a law 
  1.10  enforcement officer that a crime has been committed or otherwise 
  1.11  provides false information to an on-duty peace officer regarding 
  1.12  the conduct of others, knowing that it is false and intending 
  1.13  that the officer shall act in reliance upon it, is guilty of a 
  1.14  misdemeanor.  A person who is convicted a second or subsequent 
  1.15  time under this section is guilty of a gross misdemeanor. 
  1.16     Subd. 2.  [REPORTING POLICE MISCONDUCT.] (a) Whoever 
  1.17  informs, or causes information to be communicated to, a public 
  1.18  official, as defined in section 609.415, subdivision 1, or an 
  1.19  employee thereof, whose responsibilities include investigating 
  1.20  or reporting police misconduct, that a peace officer, as defined 
  1.21  in section 626.84, subdivision 1, paragraph (c), has committed 
  1.22  an act of police misconduct, knowing that the information is 
  1.23  false, is guilty of a crime and may be sentenced as follows: 
  1.24     (1) up to the maximum provided for a misdemeanor if the 
  1.25  false information does not allege a criminal act; or 
  2.1      (2) up to the maximum provided for a gross misdemeanor if 
  2.2   the false information alleges a criminal act. 
  2.3      (b) The court shall order any person convicted of a 
  2.4   violation of this subdivision to make full restitution of all 
  2.5   reasonable expenses incurred in the investigation of the false 
  2.6   allegation unless the court makes a specific written finding 
  2.7   that restitution would be inappropriate under the circumstances. 
  2.8      Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  2.9      Section 1 is effective August 1, 2004, and applies to 
  2.10  crimes committed on or after that date.