Man awarded $29.5K for illegal arrest, search by St. Paul police who tricked way into apartment

Federal jurors have awarded $29,500 to a man found to have been illegally searched and arrested by St. Paul Police officers four years ago after they used a maintenance worker to trick their way into his apartment.

Jurors said that David Elgersma, 34, would be awarded $1,000 in compensatory damages and $28,500 in punitive damages for his 2019 arrest, in which Sgts. Heather Weyker, Lynette Cherry and Christopher Hansen used a maintenance worker to get Elgersma to open the door before they arrested him and searched his apartment without a warrant.

A January order by U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez said the officers had no consent when searching Elgersma's apartment, adding that they violated his constitutional right against illegal search and seizure.

"These officers entered my client's apartment anticipating no accountability. Instead of discipline, what they see over and over is near-impunity," said Elgersma's attorney Tim Phillips. Phillips explained that the punitive award is meant to prevent similar cases from repeating.

"It factors in other things such as: Do these officers need to have additional money awarded against them to discourage them and discourage other officers from engaging in similar misconduct in the future?" he said.

Elgersma was awarded $17,500 for Weyker's role in his arrest, $10,000 for Cherry's role and $1,000 for Hansen's.

In a statement, Sgt. Mike Ernster said, "The St. Paul Police Department consistently reviews our policies and procedures to ensure we are in line with legal standards when providing public safety."

The trial revealed that officers went to Elgersma's apartment because he transferred a large amount of money from the housing cooperative he worked for into his personal account. Phillips said that Elgersma was trying to protect funds because he suspected were being stolen by the housing cooperative's accountant. He didn't spend the money, and his suspicions were later confirmed when that accountant pled guilty to federal charges. But at the time police thought Elgersma was pocketing the money.

They arrived in plain clothes on July 11, 2019, to arrest Elgersma under a probable cause pickup order, but did not have a warrant. The leasing manager for Elgersma's apartment building suggested that a maintenance worker knock at his door pretending to respond to a water leak, allowing officers to enter and search the premises.

Weyker, Cherry and Hansen agreed, and "as a result of this deception, Mr. Elgersma opened the door," Judge Menendez' order read. "There is no dispute that this was the only reason Mr. Elgersma opened the door."

Elgersma sued soon afterward.