Minneapolis to pay police officer $315k over illegal license lookups

The city of Minneapolis has agreed to pay a veteran police officer $315,000 to settle claims that fellow officers repeatedly viewed her private driver's license data without a lawful purpose.

Amy E. Krekelberg filed a 2013 lawsuit in U.S. District Court alleging that employees of 40 different entities in the state accessed her private information nearly 1,000 times from 2003 to 2013. The majority of those unauthorized lookups were performed by Minneapolis police and officers with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, according to the lawsuit.

Krekelberg was named 2010 Minneapolis Park Police officer of the year before joining MPD in 2012.

Sonia Miller-Van Oort, one of Krekelberg's attorneys, noted that evidence suggests the improper data breaches were driven by "personal curiosity about a fellow female officer" rather than "professional interest."

After a closed-door session Thursday, 12 City Council members unanimously agreed to award Krekelberg $315,000 plus attorney fees to resolve any and all claims. A Minneapolis police spokesman referred comment to the City Attorney's Office, which declined to comment.

"After nine years of seeking accountability for the flagrant and repeated abuse of power by fellow Minneapolis police officers toward Ms. Krekelberg and her privacy, this matter is now finally resolved," Miller-Van Oort said in a statement. "The courage and perseverance of Ms. Krekelberg during this time resulted in change to office policies, investigation and studies of Internal Affairs practices and protection of her personal information going forward. This was a win for Ms. Krekelberg and the public at large."

The case marks the final chapter of so-called 'snooping' lawsuits filed against the city regarding breaches of sensitive driver's license data, which resulted in about $1.5 million in payouts to victims during the past decade.

Minneapolis was one of several local governments sued after widespread misuse of the state's Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) database. Mostly over-curious cops looked at photographs, addresses and driving records of dozens of Minnesotans, many of them local celebrities.

The snooping first became a scandal in 2012, and one woman, former St. Paul police officer Anne Marie Rasmusson, received more than $1 million in settlements, including $392,500 from the city of Minneapolis.

The city of St. Paul settled its part of the Krekelberg lawsuit by agreeing to pay her $29,500 in 2017.

Staff writer Liz Navratil and the Associated Press contributed to this report.