BENSON, Minn. (AP) — Swift County Assessor Ed Pederson has been suspended without pay for a month after he allegedly brought a shotgun into his courthouse office in October.
The 51-year-old is also charged with possessing a dangerous weapon in a courthouse.
The sheriff’s office received a report of a gun in the assessor’s office breakroom on Oct. 28. Sheriff John Holtz recovered a cased shotgun, which an office employee said belonged to Pederson.
The sheriff kept the 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. The complaint says Pederson told the sheriff he didn’t know he couldn’t bring the gun into the courthouse.
Pederson didn’t immediately return emails from the Swift County Monitor-News seeking comment. His suspension began Nov. 23.
The courthouse has taken a number of precautions in recent years out of concern for courthouse workers’ safety.
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