‘From St. Paul to the Hall’: Paul Molitor steals home

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Editor’s note: On Sunday, Joe Mauer will become the fourth St. Paulite inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., building on a legacy begun by Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor and Jack Morris.

The Pioneer Press has chronicled the remarkable careers of these local legends since they were little leaguers.

And as we count down the days to the induction ceremony, we’re revisiting our coverage of the Saintly City’s Hall of Famers, publishing an article from our archive on each one. Today is Paul Molitor.

Our new book, From St. Paul to the Hall, digs even deeper into the careers of these four special ballplayers. You can pre-order your copy at store.twincities.com.

This article appeared March 31, 1996.

He has lived the highest highs and the lowest lows. From Milwaukee to Toronto, from All-Star Games to two World Series. He has played with the best. He has seen the country.

He has reached the pinnacle of his profession. Inch by inch, foot by foot, scratching and clawing, and moving ahead the only way he knew how, by working his body to the bone. For that, he was named the most valuable player of the 1993 World Series.

Blessed? Paul Molitor can document a case history.

“No question,” said Molitor, still the guy next door after growing up in St. Paul’s Grand Avenue-Pascal Street neighborhood. “I think you learn that so much of what anybody is able to accomplish, really, you just can’t take much credit for.

“I have no control over my ability to play baseball. This is nothing of me. You start looking at yourself as the reason good things happen, I think that’s a little misguided. You try to take whatever good things you do and bring them into fruition.

“I definitely feel I’ve been blessed, from my family to the ability I’ve been given to health … I’ve had the opportunity to do many, many things.”

He is 39 now, closing in on becoming only the 20th player in major league baseball history to collect 3,000 hits. He needs 211, and should reach the milestone early next year.

Yet there has been one thing missing during the past 19 years, one hole in his swing.

And when the Twins open the season against the Detroit Tigers on Monday afternoon, that final piece will be in place.
Paul Molitor is coming home.

“It’s taken us all quite awhile to adjust,” said Carol Rolland, one of Molitor’s six sisters. “Hearing that the Twins’ game is going to be on the radio still doesn’t equate with having Paul here. It doesn’t quite seem real yet.

“We’re very excited to have him close to home. Not just because he’s a famous baseball player, but because he’s our brother, and he’s been gone all these years.”

Isn’t that what baseball really is all about, anyway? Family? Fathers and mothers playing catch with sons and daughters, and watching in the stands at Little League games. Pickup games in the vacant lot next door.

One generation growing into the next, one pitch at a time.

“We’re very excited,” Rolland said. “Not just to see him play more ball, but to spend more time with Paul, his wife and daughter. Do more normal things. Go to his daughter’s school plays. He can come to my daughter’s graduation.

“Or, ‘Hey, Paul, I have some extra spaghetti tonight. Come on over for dinner.’”

Say one thing: With Paul home, the family’s telephone bills are sure to go down.

St. Paul history

As baseball spins wildly through the 1990s toward an uncharted future, certain things — values, morals, take your pick — have disappeared. Sometimes, it seems as if baseball, rather than television, could use that V-chip device with which parents can block out certain things from their kids.

There are contracts to negotiate, shoe deals to study, agents to call. There is more money to scoop up, one last dime to soak from someone, one more market to test.

The thing with Paul Molitor is, he has always remained grounded to St. Paul.

Even during spring training, flights from the Twin Cities have been loaded carrying visitors for Molitor. Wife. Daughter. Sisters. Friends.

“I think this means an awful lot to him,” said childhood friend Denny Roach, who returned to the Twin Cities from Florida last week. “He’s a family person. He loves his roots. He’s really looking forward to this.

“He lived and died a Minnesota Twins fan as a kid. It is really a special point for him.”

Paul Molitor: How the Hall of Famer is easing into role as Twins leader

Out at Northwest Airlines, people have been approaching Dave Molitor, Paul’s brother, nearly every day for the past two months.

“How’s Paul doing?” they ask. “Wow, can’t wait for the baseball season.”

Sometimes it’s one person a day. Sometimes a couple of people. But every day. The anticipation builds.

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“I’ve worked at Northwest Airlines for the past 12 years, and now, suddenly, people are coming up to me and telling me first hand that they’re going to attend more games because things will be more exciting with Paul,” Dave said. “That’s why I think his signing will be a mutual benefit for both sides.”

Around the Twin Cities, the buzz continues.

“I’m surprised that the people who haven’t mentioned it to me in the past have mentioned it now,” Rolland said. “People I work with …

“Paul’s brother and other sisters, our kids, friends, we’re just kind of riding the glory right now in a very fun way. Right now, it’s still front-page news for all of us.”

Dave Molitor plans to spend plenty of time at the Metrodome this summer with his son, Nicholas, 7. And while Paul is studying opposing pitchers, his 11-year-old daughter, Blaire, will be busy becoming reacquainted with her 24 cousins.

“Even when Paul’s wife travels with him, just to pitch in and do family stuff,” Rolland said. “Take care of his dog and hamster.”

The biggest difference Monday, as opposed to 25 years ago, is that when Paul joins the hometown team, he won’t be riding his bicycle to the baseball field.

“Now I’ll just hop on the freeway — and try to find the players’ lot,” Molitor said, grinning.

Oxford playground

Used to be, Molitor’s bicycle was parked on St. Paul’s Oxford playground for what seemed like 24 hours a day.

“I remember when I was young, I would be on at least three teams a summer,” he said. “Every night, I’d be on my bike riding to practice.”

As a teenager, Molitor worked at the Oxford playground. Could there be a more perfect job for a neighborhood kid? He took care of the softball fields, mowing grass, chalking the fields, sticking around, waiting to choose up sides.

Hours later, there he was on the fields with a glove on his hand, chasing baseballs, cracking line drives, one after another as the sun dropped from the summer sky.

Playing on VFW and Babe Ruth teams. Playing for — and winning — state championships while at Cretin High School. Watching Dave Winfield take batting practice in street clothes the summer Winfield came home for baseball’s all-star break as a rookie with the Padres.

“One time when he was a senior in high school, he had mononucleosis and couldn’t play,” said Bill Peterson, one of Molitor’s old coaches, now St. Paul’s supervisor of municipal athletics. “One day he was walking across the field, all mopey, and sat on the bench. He asked me if he could take a few swings, and he put on an exhibition of hitting I’ll never forget. He was hitting the ball 380, 400 feet. It was unreal.”

One afternoon a car clipped the back of Molitor’s bicycle as he was riding barefoot to practice. He got his toes caught in the spokes, cut them and couldn’t play that day. Peterson instituted a new rule: Players must wear shoes on their way to practice.

“Paul was my little brother who we organized our meal times around, our laundry schedule around,” Rolland said. “Even when Paul was in Little League, it was a rallying point for our family. It was what we did. We ate early or late, depending on the game.”

She chuckled at the memories.

“I think the only time we got upset was when we had to cook something special if Paul didn’t like what we were having for dinner. There was always a hamburger to fix Paul if he didn’t like the hot dish.”

Then, the first time Molitor returned to old Metropolitan Stadium as a rookie with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1978, the Twins flashed “Welcome Home, Paul” on the scoreboard.

“I will never forget that,” said Molitor’s father, Richard, who winters in Sun City, Ariz., and spends summer in the Twin Cities. “That sent shivers up and down your spine.

“We were all so excited. That was really something. That was really special, him coming home.

“And now, he’s home again.”

Ambassador to fans

Every day after workouts this spring, a tired, sweating Paul Molitor would trudge from the fields toward the clubhouse, become engulfed in fans and autograph seekers, and plop down on a picnic table.

Once there, he would ask only that the fans be orderly and polite — and then he would sign autographs until
everyone had gotten one. Sometimes it took 15 minutes, sometimes 30, many times longer.

Hot sun. Dripping sweat. Every day.

He is one of baseball’s best ambassadors. Need an autograph? If at all possible, Molitor will oblige. Those fans calling out to the players from the first rows by the dugout? If it’s before a game or during batting practice, Molitor will unfailingly acknowledge them.

When the Twins played the Japanese Olympic team early in the spring, Molitor led his team onto the field afterward for the traditional handshake line.

“I’ll say one thing, he sure is cooperative,” Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. “He’ll go out of his way to make people feel comfortable around him. As cooperative and easy to approach as he is, he carries himself like he’s 25 years old. He’s just one of those guys you feel good to be around.”

Ryan shakes his head at the thought of Molitor sitting on that picnic table, day after day, all spring.

“I don’t know if people realize — that’s quite a deal,” he said. “One day here, one day there, that’s one thing. But that was every day … that’s how you bring people back to the ballpark.”

Is it any wonder that Molitor leaves a trail of compliments wherever he goes?

“I’m definitely going to miss him,” Toronto outfielder Shawn Green said. “Having him around, he’s such a good guy to learn from. The thing that’s great about him is that some older players might say, ‘You’ve got to do this.’ He lets you come to him. …

“When we were really struggling last year, he used to say to me, ‘I know we’re not winning, but go in and have good at-bats. Do what you can do.’ And I had a better second half than first.”

The Twins already have found Molitor helpful in the clubhouse as well, even if it has been for only six weeks.

“I’ve really enjoyed being able to talk to him,” said Ron Coomer, whose spring locker was next to Molitor’s. “He’s experienced in everything the game has to offer. And he’s open to questions.

“He’s gone through it all, from contract stuff to a couple of strikes to how to get out of a slump. He’s been pretty free with how to approach the game. That’s really good for a guy like me.”

Picking the Twins

Molitor had his pick over the winter. He had solid offers from the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers and the Toronto Blue Jays, in addition to the Twins.

Paul Molitor goes through infield practice during spring training in March 1996 in Fort Myers, Fla. (Chris Polydoroff / Pioneer Press)

Then, on the day he was to have signed with the Twins, he received a last-minute phone call from the Chicago White Sox asking him not to sign anything until he spoke with them. As if things already weren’t confusing enough.

Molitor signed with the Twins anyway, for nearly $4 million over two years. White Sox manager Terry Bevington approached him before a game this spring, apologizing for his club’s late, somewhat confused entry into the fray.

When Molitor began sorting it all out in November, he sat down with his agent, Ron Simon, and put together a list of criteria. The hometown factor was big, but not the deciding thing.

Molitor agreed to sign with the Twins only after a long conversation with manager Tom Kelly.

“Yes, being a St. Paulite was important, but there were other things, too,” Molitor said. “If you were going to come back strictly because it was your home, I don’t know how long that aspect would warrant a two-year commitment. I think there’s got to be more than that.

“If you didn’t enjoy the guy you were playing for, or the atmosphere in the clubhouse each day … I don’t know what our record is going to be this year, but I know this team is going to compete every day it goes out onto the field.”

As the negotiations wound down, the Molitor family held its breath and prayed.

“Torturous,” was the way Rolland described the time. “It was for us because we knew it was for him. And I don’t think we realized all the factors he considered. We knew the whole Milwaukee thing was a real internal battle for him.”

The Brewers, in fact, were so angry when Molitor declined to return to his first professional home that they ordered his old number, 4, to be given out during spring training. Nobody had worn it since Molitor’s departure in 1992. Suddenly, some non-roster guy named Wes Weger, who had no chance of making the club, wore it this spring.

“I choose to remember Milwaukee in a positive way,” Molitor said. “I had a lot of positive experiences there. It was very enjoyable. I’m not going to let that be tarnished by some people’s interpretation of how things unfolded.

“I feel my reasons were good both for leaving the first time and not choosing to come back a second time.”

In the end, when Milwaukee’s Pat Listach saw that the club was going to make sure No. 4 was worn, he telephoned Molitor and asked if Molitor would have a problem if Listach wore it himself.

“I told him I was flattered,” Molitor said. “The fact that he would call me and somewhat ask permission … that was a classy thing to do.”

In the end, Molitor turned down better financial packages to play with the Twins. He turned down a chance to play for a guaranteed winner. He turned down a couple of very good chances to appear in another World Series.

Which brings up: Has Molitor’s inner fire cooled a few degrees? Is he heading home just to soften up in preparation for retirement?

“Nationally, I think some people might question choosing Minnesota over Baltimore,” Molitor said. “Like, ‘You’re looking at just playing your career out and achieving individual goals.’ It doesn’t really concern me. I think having won in ‘93 may well have been the reason I was able to choose Minnesota. …

“I thought about going to a team to fulfill a role as a hitman, so to speak. But to come in here and be part of trying to rebuild this organization, to make it more competitive toward a championship hunt … whether I’ll be here when those benefits are reached, I can’t say. There are a lot of things. This might not mean I’ll get another (World Series) ring. I hope it does.

“But I’m not going to leave anything in the jar when I walk away from here.”

Chances are, those who would dare question his inner desire with the Twins never saw him as a kid, imitating Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison in his back yard. Or listening to the Twins on the radio and envisioning himself in a uniform. Or dragging his father outside after dinner each night to play catch.

“Earl Battey, Mudcat Grant, Camilo Pascual … I remember a lot of things,” Molitor said.

“Cesar Tovar playing every position, getting hit in the shoulder every other day. Harmon pulling his hamstring in the All-Star Game.

“I have a lot of memories.”

He finally slipped on a Twins uniform for the first time in early February, when he played in the University of Minnesota alumni game.

And after 19 seasons in the majors, two World Series, six All-Star Games and nearly 3,000 hits,you know what he did before the game started when he got dressed?

He sneaked into the clubhouse bathroom and peeked in the mirror.

“Had to check out those pinstripes,” he said.

Memories of mom

Of course, one seat will be empty when Molitor pulls on the Twins uniform for real Monday, one branch missing.

Paul Molitor’s mother, Kathie Molitor, seen here in July 1985, was her son’s biggest fan. She died in 1988.(Mark Morson / Pioneer Press)

In 1988, Kathie Molitor, Paul’s mother, died unexpectedly at age 59 from an asthma attack. Paul was her first son, and Kathie provided the encouragement and the support. Paul provided the joy.

“We had a lot of fun in those days, with all the ballgames and families,” Richard Molitor said. “Even when he was a kid, bouncing the baseball off the side of the house.

“Fortunately, we had a brick house.”

That first trip to Metropolitan Stadium as a Brewer? Nobody was more proud than Kathie.

It was a special time.

“That’s the only thing that’s been a little melancholy,” Rolland said. “I remember during Paul’s college career, we’d go to Siebert Field, and Bobby Allison would come and watch Paul. My mom, since I was a little girl, had a crush on (Allison) …
“She saw Paul through from early on.”

Molitor, a faraway look in his eyes, nodded.

“I don’t dwell on that, but naturally, she played a special role — not only as your mom, but as a special lady who gave so much,” he said. “To raise eight kids and still find time to be a big fan of mine.

“Naturally, I’d love to have her have the opportunity to see me play for the Twins. Time helps those things.

“We all miss her. It was sad to lose her at a young age. She was very supportive, and she had a lot of baseball knowledge.”

She will be there in spirit, of course, and there will be times this summer when the Molitors will be gathered in the Metrodome, or at dinner or in the back yard, and a knowing glance will be exchanged.

Certainly, this will be a summer suitable for framing. Ballgames. Family. Friends. Local phone calls and last-minute plans and helping with the kids. Who says you can’t go home again?

Roots.

It can be such a big word.

“It’s going to be like old times,” Richard Molitor said. “We can hop in the car and go to the ballpark and see Paul play.”

Now, maybe Dave can get out for a round of golf with his brother one summer’s afternoon. On an off day, of course. And as for that extra spaghetti on Carol’s stove, well, there will be plenty of home stands.

“Paul is a sentimental person,” Roach said. “He believes in God. And he really believes this is his destiny.”

They’ve already had one family celebration — the night before Molitor signed with the Twins, they went to dinner at J.D. Hoyt’s and toasted Paul’s homecoming.

Starting Monday, all of Minnesota can join in the toast.

“I think Midwestern people, not to make too much of a generalization, you don’t ever want to get too far from your roots,” Molitor said. “I realize the importance of growing up in St. Paul, the school system, the Parks and Recreation Department, coaches, family. All of those things haven’t gotten lost over the years. I’ve tried to maintain relationships.

“I’m glad I did now, because it’s going to make this year all that much sweeter. No matter what happens on the field, I think it’s going to be something that will be very memorable.”

Get the book

“From St. Paul to the Hall”: the Pioneer Press chronicled the careers of Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, Jack Morris and Joe Mauer, and we’ve compiled the best of our coverage into a new hardcover book that celebrates the legendary baseball legacy of Minnesota’s capital city. Order your copy of “From St. Paul to the Hall.”

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Today in History: July 19, the Seneca Falls Convention

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Today is Friday, July 19, the 201st day of 2024. There are 165 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On July 19, 1848, the first “Convention to discuss the social, civil and religious condition and rights of Woman” convened at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, N.Y.

Also on this date:

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Reagan survived an assassination attempt and his response changed the trajectory of his presidency

In 1812, during the War of 1812, the First Battle of Sackets Harbor in Lake Ontario resulted in an American victory as U.S. naval forces repelled a British attack.

In 1969, Apollo 11 and its astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins, went into orbit around the moon.

In 1975, the Apollo and Soyuz space capsules that were linked in orbit for two days separated.

In 1979, the Nicaraguan capital of Managua fell to Sandinista guerrillas, two days after President Anastasio Somoza fled the country.

In 1980, the Moscow Summer Olympics began, minus dozens of nations that were boycotting the games because of Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.

In 1989, 111 people were killed when United Air Lines Flight 232, a DC-10 which sustained the uncontained failure of its tail engine and the loss of hydraulic systems, crashed while making an emergency landing at Sioux City, Iowa; 185 other people survived.

In 1990, baseball’s all-time hits leader, Pete Rose, was sentenced in Cincinnati to five months in prison for tax evasion.

In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced a policy allowing gays to serve in the military under a compromise dubbed “don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue.”

In 2006, prosecutors reported that Chicago police beat, kicked, shocked or otherwise tortured scores of Black suspects from the 1970s to the early 1990s to try to extract confessions from them.

In 2005, President George W. Bush announced his choice of federal appeals court judge John G. Roberts Jr. to replace Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. (Roberts ended up succeeding Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who died in Sept. 2005; Samuel Alito followed O’Connor.)

In 2013, in a rare and public reflection on race, President Barack Obama called on the nation to do some soul searching over the death of Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of his shooter, George Zimmerman, saying the slain black teenager “could have been me 35 years ago.”

In 2018, a duck boat packed with tourists capsized and sank in high winds on a lake in the tourist town of Branson, Missouri, killing 17 people.

In 2021, Paul Allard Hodgkins, a Florida man who breached the U.S. Senate chamber on Jan. 6 carrying a Trump campaign flag, received an eight-month prison term; it was the first resolution for a felony case in the January 6th U.S. Capitol insurrection.

In 2022, Britain shattered its record for the highest temperature ever registered amid a heat wave that seared swaths of Europe.

Today’s Birthdays:

Civil rights activist and educator Rachel Robinson, widow of baseball’s Jackie Robinson, is 102.
Singer Vikki Carr is 84.
Blues singer-musician Little Freddie King is 84.
Singer-musician Alan Gorrie (Average White Band) is 78.
International Tennis Hall of Famer Ilie Nastase is 78.
Rock musician Brian May (Queen) is 77.
Rock musician Bernie Leadon is 77.
Movie director Abel Ferrara is 73.
Movie director Atom Egoyan is 64.
Actor Campbell Scott is 63.
Actor Anthony Edwards is 62.
Ukrainian politician and former boxing champion Vitali Klitschko is 53.
Actor Benedict Cumberbatch is 48.
TV chef Marcela Valladolid is 46.
Actor Trai Byers (TV: “Empire”) is 41.
Actor Kaitlin Doubleday (TV: “Empire,” “Nashville”) is 39.

Royce White, Joe Fraser present contrasting conservative visions in first Senate debate

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In a Thursday night debate before the August primary, the two Minnesota Republican Senate candidates seeking their party’s nomination to challenge three-term U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar contrasted their versions of conservatism.

GOP-endorsed candidate Royce White, a former NBA basketball player turned right-wing media personality, and Joe Fraser, a political newcomer favored by members of the traditional party establishment, both said their top concerns were border security and addressing soaring national debt. Both expressed support for former President Donald Trump, though White tied himself to the populist, nationalist wing of the Republican Party.

The two candidates appeared in a debate Thursday night in St. Paul hosted by the Minnesota Federation of RepublicanWomen and streamed online on conservative Minnesota news outlet Alpha News. MNFRW President Kelly Jahner Byrne was the moderator.

White won the Minnesota Republican party’s endorsement at the state party convention in a move that surprised many political observers and dismayed many traditional establishment Republicans.

Fraser had initially said he would not run against the endorsed candidate but changed his mind after the convention. At the beginning of the debate White noted that some had urged him not to participate as it could potentially undermine the endorsement process, but he ended up accepting.

“I’m such a competitor I can’t help myself,” he said.

In explaining his decision to remain in the race, Fraser said he believes the nominating process can’t get in the way of everyone having their voices heard.

“We had a small fraction of our party show up to our convention. That doesn’t represent the totality of the Republican Party in this state, it’s a fraction,” he said.

Fraser, a Navy veteran who now works in banking, said his experience qualifies him to help fight government waste.

“I fought with these bureaucrats,” he said. “I fought with them to try to make things much more efficient.”

White questioned the very legitimacy of the post-World War II liberal world order, calling it antithetical to conservative aims.

“You can’t have a country without a border. You can’t have a country $36 trillion in debt, but you also can’t have a country when you defend everybody else’s borders more than you do your own,” said White.

Both expressed favorable views of former President Donald Trump. Fraser said he endorsed Trump in February and has voted for him before. He said he believed America was rougher on Russia and China under the former President.

White described himself as “Ultra-MAGA.”

“I’m further right than Trump, I’m proud of it and I’m going to support him every step of the way,” he said, describing himself as the nationalist and populist wing of the right.

White said a big part of tackling the national debt would come from ending “forever wars” and curbing U.S. military interventionism. Fraser said he would go after “reckless spending,” like $114 million for diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the Department of Defense.

White said that proposed cut didn’t go far enough for eliminating waste and floated eliminating the FBI.

Candidates were asked how they plan to defeat Klobuchar in November. White said he would focus on courting Black and Hispanic voters in the Twin Cities metro by going door-to-door. Fraser said he would focus on winning in the Twin Cities suburbs.

For the first half of the debate, the candidates largely avoided taking direct shots at one another, but when asked about their stances on transgender issues, White criticized Fraser for including he/him pronouns on his LinkedIn profile.

“We’re going to have a United States senator that serves with peace through strength, that capitulates to the social pressure and norms of queer theory on their own social media page?” said White. “They’d have to shoot me in the head before I put he/him pronouns on my LinkedIn bio.”

Fraser said the inclusion of pronouns on his LinkedIn was not a matter of support for transgender ideas.

“I recognize that gender identity dysmorphia is a mental illness, and we need to be compassionate for people who suffer from it,” said Fraser. “But that doesn’t mean that we need to force that on society and indoctrinate our children into it.”

Whoever wins the GOP primary on Aug. 13 faces a rough road ahead in the general election. Klobuchar, who was first elected to the Senate in 2006, comfortably won reelection in 2012 and 2018. She also enjoys a significant cash advantage over her potential GOP challengers.

No Republican has won a statewide election in Minnesota since 2006.

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Father’s lawsuit against Dakota County jail alleges ‘shocking lack of care’ for son with diabetes, mental illness

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A federal lawsuit filed Thursday alleges Dakota County jail employees left a 22-year-old Farmington man in a padded cell naked and covered in his own feces, blood, urine and vomit for nearly 20 hours while his mental and physical health deteriorated to the point he was hospitalized in critical condition.

Caleb Duffy was arrested by Hastings police on suspicion of domestic assault shortly after 6:30 p.m. July 4, 2022. Duffy, who has mental illness and diabetes, was removed from the cell two days later and taken to Region’s Hospital.

Duffy was diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis and kept intubated and sedated for five days. He spent nearly two weeks in intensive care before being transferred to the hospital’s psychiatry unit. His hospital bills totaled more than $220,000.

Brian Duffy, Caleb’s father and limited legal guardian, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court that names as defendants Dakota County and 10 of its corrections staff, as well as the jail’s medical provider, Advanced Correctional Healthcare Inc., and three of its employees. It alleges two counts of negligence and violations of the Eighth and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution “either maliciously or with reckless disregard.”

“This case involves a shocking lack of care by the defendant corrections and jail medical staff,” Ryan Vettleson, an attorney at Storms Dworak, which is representing Duffy’s family, said in a statement. “No person should be subjected to such willful indifference.”

The lawsuit alleges Duffy’s “obvious and severe symptoms he displayed of a medical emergency were repeatedly ignored.”

Jail video surveillance shows Duffy in a psychotic state in a padded cell, naked and rolling around in his own feces, blood, urine and vomit, the lawsuit says. Duffy injured himself severely by repeatedly hitting his head against an unpadded area of the cell.

“Mr. Duffy’s plight was so severe that it is extremely difficult to watch any of it on video, but the video goes on for hours on end — and the individuals present at the time did nothing,” Vettleson said.

Dakota County Sheriff Joe Leko and a Dakota County spokeswoman both said they cannot comment on pending litigation.

“Know that the safety and care of our detainees have always been and continue to be top priorities in our jail,” Leko said in a statement, adding that the Dakota County Attorney’s Office is representing the county and employees named in the claim.

Father informed jail

Prior to the incident, Duffy was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, autism anxiety, major depressive disorder, ADHD and Type I diabetes, the lawsuit says. He previously had been hospitalized several times for diabetic ketoacidosis and mental health crisis intervention. He was civilly committed for mental illness in January 2021, a commitment that was continued six months later and remains in effect, court records show.

The lawsuit claims that Duffy’s father called the jail repeatedly starting around 9 p.m. July 4 to inform staff that his son was a vulnerable adult with mental illness and diabetes and in need of his medication and hospitalization. However, jail staff “took no action” to get Duffy his insulin until around 5:35 a.m. July 5, when a deputy saw him pacing in the holding cell and yelling that he was dying.

After Duffy told the deputy that he had diabetes and needed his blood sugar checked, it was found to be “dangerously high,” the lawsuit continues.

About a half-hour later, Duffy was seen by a nurse from Advanced Correctional Healthcare, a Tennessee-based private corporation licensed to do business in Minnesota. The nurse administered Duffy 14 units of fast-acting insulin.

Duffy’s father met with a different nurse around 8:10 a.m. July 5, giving her his son’s medical history information. He returned around 10:45 a.m. with Duffy’s prescribed medication: insulin and Gabapentin, an anticonvulsant medication that is used off-label to treat anxiety.

Gabapentin withdrawal symptoms can appear in 12 hours and can include anxiety, pain, agitation, disorientation, confusion, combativeness, hallucinations and paranoid delusions, the lawsuit says.

However, jail medical staff never administered Gabapentin to or initiated a withdrawal protocol for Duffy, “demonstrating deliberate indifference to Duffy’s serious medical needs and medical negligence,” the lawsuit alleges.

‘I’ll just hit my head’

Duffy refused the fast-acting insulin around noon on July 5. A nurse reported that Duffy acknowledged understanding the ramifications of refusing his insulin, and then he “sat down and started slamming the back of his head against the cement and said, ‘I’ll just hit my head until I die,’” the lawsuit says.

Duffy was put on suicide watch, meaning corrections staff were required to perform well-being checks on him at least every 15 minutes.

About three hours later, Duffy stripped off his gown and began vomiting and ramming his head into the walls of his padded cell. A deputy noted that Duffy was screaming that he “needs a doctor.”

Surveillance video shows that although Duffy had urinated and defecated in his cell and repeatedly vomited, a nurse who administered insulin noted no distress or other concerns with him, the lawsuit claims.

Duffy remained in his cell for the next 19½ hours as his psychosis and physical health worsened, according to the lawsuit. Between 6 a.m. and around 8:30 a.m. the next day, Duffy hit his head on the cell’s walls or floor 22 times. At one point, he hit his head against a metal grate so hard it caused a bleeding wound.

A nurse arrived at Duffy’s cell at about 8:45 a.m. and noted “some blood on walls, floor and drain,” the lawsuit says. She entered the cell with two deputies and took his blood sugar, which was so high the machine could not register it.

The nurse left the cell to call an ambulance, “but watched him on video surveillance and saw him repeatedly sit up and fall backwards, hitting his head on the ground, leaving a bloody mark each time,” the lawsuit continues.

At approximately 9 a.m., Duffy was carried out of the cell and loaded into an ambulance.

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