The wife of the Brown County sheriff has been cleared to return to work at the county jail after an investigation into her on-the-job conduct reached its conclusion within the last month.
That’s according to personnel records obtained by The Dakota Scout, which show that Mary Jane Lunzman has been hired into a new position as a part-time detention officer at the jail her husband, Sheriff Dave Lunzman, oversees.
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In December, county officials obtained outside counsel to conduct an inquiry into MJ Lunzman after she performed a blood draw on a drunken driving suspect without obtaining a required warrant. The incident inflamed tensions among officials in Aberdeen, prompting Police Chief Dave McNeil to send a letter to the sheriff raising concerns that his wife’s conduct had the potential to undermine the integrity of law enforcement investigations.
McNeil requested that MJ Lunzman no longer be allowed to perform blood draws on suspects arrested by the Aberdeen Police Department, but the sheriff declined to alter blood-draw operations.
In her new role, the sheriff said that Mary Jane will be tasked with creating and implementing the training program for employees at the prison.
“She’s heading up our training program, getting it where it needs to be,” Sheriff Lunzman said,noting that his spouse has an extensive background in education. “Where there is a curriculum in order, so everyone is taught the same things at the same time and we can better retain employees.”
MJ Lunzman was first hired by her husband in April 2023 as a blood-draw specialist. She was employed as an on-call worker. That was noted in county commission minutes in May 2023, but her departure from the job was not.
She stepped down from the position after the investigation into her conduct was initiated.
Blood-draw technicians in the Brown County jail are paid on an as-used basis, or per each draw performed. MJ Lunzman’s new position overseeing inmates will pay her a more stable hourly wage of $21.29, but leaves her ineligible for any employee benefits because she is part-time.
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The investigation’s conclusion doesn’t put an end to strife between the county’s top lawman and other local officials in the Hub City, though. A spokesman with the Aberdeen Police Department indicated Tuesday, April 16 that it continues to take arrestees to Avera St. Lukes Hospital for blood draws. Meanwhile, the sheriff said the county has ceased blood draw operations at the jail all together due to widespread staffing issues, a problem his wife’s hiring helped address.
On the county side, Sheriff Lunzman’s way of running his department has also raised eyebrows. Several county employees who spoke to The Scout questioned the sheriff’s approach to leadership and how he manages the jail.
Brown County Commission assessing investigation into jail conduct
“We did an investigation, received a report and we are still analyzing it,” said county commission Chairman Duane Sutton, declining to elaborate further.
Controversy in Brown County’s law enforcement community is not exactly new. In 2015, Laura Zylstra Kaiser, a former agent with the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, filed a lawsuit against the state, alleging that the head of DCI forced her to resign after she complained about sexual harassment from a Brown County deputy. Zylstra Kaiser, a member of a joint drug task force, alleged other male members of the task force, including Lunzman, tried to cover up the harassment.
Zylstra Kaiser was transferred to Pierre, where she was forced to live at the police academy dormitory apart from her family and under restrictions. Her complaints of sexual harassment were dismissed by the state, and she left DCI in 2012.
Ultimately, she won a $1.5 million verdict after a jury found that she had been forced from her job. That verdict, rendered just months before the 2018 GOP primary election for governor, became an issue in the campaign between then-Rep. Kristi Noem and Attorney General Marty Jackley, who had dismissed Zylstra Kaiser’s complaint. Noem used Zylstra Kaiser in a campaign ad and won a narrow victory over Jackley.
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It was also an issue in the 2018 Brown County Republican primary for sheriff in which Zylstra Kaiser’s husband, Dan Kaiser, an Aberdeen police officer, challenged then-Sheriff Mark Milbrandt. Milbrandt won the primary election.
The incident sparked an investigation by the South Dakota Law Enforcement Standards and Training Commission. The Brown County deputy who had been accused of sexually harassing Zylstra Kaiser resigned, but the commission did not find sufficient evidence to discipline Dave Lunzman or Milbrandt.
Dave Lunzman, who has served as sheriff since 2022 after vacating a seat on the Aberdeen City Council, said that he hopes the conclusion of the investigation leads to better relationships between county employees and law enforcement officers.
“I hope that we can all move forward from this, I really do,” he said. “It was ugly, my wife felt bad because she was really just trying to help the community and she felt like the community was beating her up… This is a community we have dedicated our lives to. We don’t want anything but the best for it.”