Southern Minnesota police chief accused of posting racially charged cellphone video

Chief Daniel Bunde of Madison Lake ended the video by saying "Wake up, America."

September 11, 2018 at 11:17PM
A screengrab of the video that Madison Lake, Minn., Police Chief Daniel Bunde posted on Facebook.
A screengrab of the video that Madison Lake, Minn., Police Chief Daniel Bunde posted on Facebook. (Vince Tuss/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A video surfaced online Tuesday that shows the police chief of Madison Lake, Minn., population 1,017, complaining about non-English speakers at Yellowstone Park this summer, apparently while on vacation.

Chief Daniel Bunde turned on his cellphone camera while sitting with others at the national park and, after telling his viewers where he was, turned the camera around to catch bits of the conversations going on around him.

"All I hear is blablablablabla," he said. He tips his head forward a few times to show the "Veteran" baseball cap he's wearing, before signing off with, "Wake up, America."

Bunde didn't respond to a phone call or email Tuesday, but the Madison Lake city administrator told a Mankato TV station that he spoke with Bunde and didn't want to pursue the issue any further.

Administrator Curt Kephart added that the anonymous tipster who sent the video to the Madison Lake City Hall and KEYC in Mankato should be cautious before making judgments about Bunde.

"Be very cautious before we call people racist," Kephart told the TV station.

Kephart didn't return a phone call Tuesday.

Madison Lake is located about 80 miles southwest of the Twin Cities.

Matt McKinney • 612-217-1747

about the writer

about the writer

Matt McKinney

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Matt McKinney writes about his hometown of Stillwater and the rest of Washington County for the Star Tribune's suburbs team. 

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