Former Wichita police chief Ramsay wins race for sheriff in Minnesota county

Former Wichita police chief Gordon Ramsay is poised to become sheriff in St. Louis County, Minnesota.

Tuesday night’s unofficial results show Ramsay with nearly 50 percent of the vote over Jason Lukovsky, the current St. Louis County undersheriff, who had 40 percent. The current sheriff, Ross Litman, was first elected in 2002 and endorsed Lukovsky to be his successor after deciding not to run again, The Duluth News Tribune reported.

The election results won’t be finalized until a canvassing board approves the votes within 10 days of the election.

Ramsay came to Wichita in 2016 after serving as the chief in Duluth, Minnesota, for a decade. Duluth is Ramsay’s hometown and the St. Louis County seat. The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office is a little bigger than the Duluth Police Department. It is about 30% the size of the Wichita Police Department.

Ramsay resigned on March 1 to move back to Minnesota and run for sheriff.

Ramsay was known for helping diversify the Wichita department and connecting with minority communities. But his tenure in Wichita will be overshadowed by an episode in which members of the SWAT team sent racist, homophobic and extremist messages to each other.

Weeks after he left, The Eagle broke the news about the messages and how Wichita officers involved received little to no punishment. In the messages, officers associated with the “Three Percenters” militia group, were blase about shooting and beating people and sent a photoshopped image of a naked Black man sitting on the head of George Floyd.

The only officer originally suspended was one who called Ramsay a tool.

Multiple officers were suspended after the city reopened the case after public outcry following The Eagle’s story.

The News Tribune covered some of the details about the initial scandal but did not mention how a city report later blamed Ramsay and his executive staff for the light punishment. The paper’s editorial board later endorsed Ramsay, noting that after the “murder of George Floyd and the subsequent scrutiny on law enforcement, Ramsay’s style lof (sic) leadership best benefits the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office.”

Ramsay told the News Tribune that he reported the text message scandal to multiple people and agencies, including the city manager, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and police Citizen’s Review Board.

City manager Robert Layton denies Ramsay did. And it wasn’t reported to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office until after an Eagle reporter brought it up to then interim chief Lem Moore after Ramsay left.

Federal law requires that type of information be passed on to prosecutors to ensure people accused of a crime have a fair trial.