A 20-year-veteran of the Moorhead Police Department was arrested for DWI Thursday night. The Moorhead Police Department says around 7 p.m. a citizen outside of Mick’s Office Bar saw what he thought was an intoxicated man getting into a vehicle. A responding Moorhead officer ran the plate information provided by the citizen and discovered it was the personal vehicle of Sgt. Thad Stafford. The officer located the vehicle around 7:30 p.m. in the 2000 block of 33rd Street south and confirmed that Sgt. Stafford was driving. A Clay County Sheriff’s deputy was asked to continue the investigation to avoid any conflict of interest. After their investigation, Stafford was arrested for suspicion of DWI. Stafford was taken to the Clay County Jail. He will be placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. Thanks to MNN Affiliate KFGO
Police Chief Shannon Monroe provides this public statement:
“The Moorhead Police Department must maintain the trust of the public we serve by being accountable and transparent. We are entrusted to enforce the law and be examples to others. Police officers are human and make mistakes, but we are not above the law. Our community is safer through actions of citizens that recognize and report suspected intoxicated drivers. The officers that took part in this investigation acted appropriately and professionally.”