PIERRE, SD – South Dakota lawmakers on Tuesday launched a lawsuit against the state’s attorney general, who is facing charges of misconduct for beating and killing a man with his car and is already under pressure to resign.
A two-party lawmaker has filed a decision in the House to accuse the state’s leading law enforcement officer, Jason Ravnsborg, after he indicated Monday that he would not heed calls for his resignation.
The Republican attorney general is on trial on three charges of misconduct, but no crimes in the death of 55-year-old Joseph Boever in September.
Lawmakers argued in the indictment that Ravnsborg should be removed from office for “his crimes or offenses in office that caused the death” of Boever.
The resolution also states that Ravnsborg’s behavior after the accident was ‘inappropriate’ and that his ‘statements and actions do not meet the standard’.
‘When we started looking at the duties that the attorney general owes to the people of South Dakota, I think he’s a special duty to protect the people and uphold the laws. And I think the actions in these incidents did not come under that duty, “said Rep. Will Mortensen, who represents the area where the accident took place and who decided the accusation.
Shortly before the indictment was filed, Governor Kristi Noem asked him to resign. The governor’s spokesman, Ian Fury, said she also supported the indictment.
“Now that the investigation has been completed and complaints have been lodged, I believe the Attorney General should resign,” Noem said in a statement.
According to spokesman Mike Deaver, Ravnsborgs will not retire.
“As an attorney and colonel in the Army Reserves, AG Ravnsborg fought for the rule of law and personal freedoms and would hope he gets the same right and courtesy,” Deaver said in a statement.
While Ravnsborg has not yet been convicted of any crimes, Mortensen said he believes it is the “right time” to start indictment after looking through the publicly available evidence and prosecutors announced their indictment.
It will require a simple majority in the House to prepare the charges of indictment to the Senate. Two-thirds of the senators would be required to condemn him and remove him from office. According to state law, senators must wait 20 days after the attorney general receives a copy of the indictment before beginning the trial. Name will appoint a replacement if Ravnsborg leaves office or is removed.
The attorney general, who was elected to his first term in 2018, was driving to Pierre late on September 12 from the Republican fundraiser when he beat and killed Boever, who was walking on the shoulder of the highway. Ravnsborg initially told authorities he thought he had struck a deer or other large animal and said he searched the unlit area with a cellphone flashlight. He said he did not realize the next day that he had killed a man when he returned to the crash scene.
After an investigation that spanned five months, prosecutors said they still have questions about the accident, but that they can no longer file serious criminal charges against Ravnsborg. They charged him with reckless driving, driving out of his lane and driving a motor vehicle while he was on his phone.
Prosecutors found that he did not use his phone at the time of the crash, but that he had used it about one minute before. The attorney general could face up to 30 days in prison and a $ 500 fine on each charge if convicted.
Michael Moore, the Beadle County State Attorney who is helping in the case, said Monday that Ravnsborg was questioned by Ravensborg following the crash, that he was not clear on what caused him to swing on the shoulder of the highway. not and gave: different examples of possibly what could have happened. ”
Nome released videos of Ravnsborg’s two interviews with law enforcement late Tuesday. In the videos, investigators confront the attorney general with the gruesome details of the crash and say to him at one point, “His face was in your windshield, Jason, think about it.”
Ravnsborg appears to be uncertain about many details in the crash, but investigators told him Boever’s glasses were found in the attorney general’s Ford Taurus, and bone scrapes were found on the highway shoulder. While investigators described how his car swung on his shoulder and hit Boever, causing major damage to the car’s hood, Ravnsborg appeared to be distressed.
“I never saw him,” he told investigators. “I never saw him.”