Former Duluth Police Lieutenant suing the city claiming Whistleblower retaliation

DULUTH, Minn. – Former Duluth Police Lieutenant David Drozdowski has filed a 43-page lawsuit against the city of Duluth.

His lawsuit claims, “After Mike Ceynowa was named Police Chief and Mayor Roger Reinert was elected to lead the City of Duluth, Lt. Drozdowski saw a shift in the department’s culture and officer misconduct. He became aware of an increase in troubling behavior, including blatant discrimination, missing use-of-force records, apparent data manipulation, and other wrongdoing.”

It continues to claim, “When he blew the whistle on these issues, the City retaliated… City leaders shared Lt. Drozdowski’s confidential reports with the police chiefs, who were the very people engaging in the misconduct.”  He continues to claim that the sharing of his concerns led to Drozdowski’s being reassigned “to a lesser position”.  He then claimed  “without warning or explanation” he was placed on administrative leave and ordered “to undergo an intrusive, humiliating psychological fitness-for-duty exam, an evaluation rarely utilized, even when officers were involved in traumatic, deadly force events”.

He says, “In the fall of 2022, Mike Ceynowa was named the new Duluth Police Chief. Around this time, DPD’s culture shifted. Lt. Drozdowski became aware of more concerning behaviors, cover-ups, and misconduct within the department.”

FOX 21 asked the City of Duluth for a response to the lawsuit.  A spokesperson for the city said, “The City of Duluth does not comment on active litigation.”

Inside the lawsuit, Drozdowski claimed, “there had been critical incidents that involved use of force and loss of life that were preventable, that uses of force were often not adequately investigated, and that the City often failed to train its officers and did not address officer misconduct.”  He also claimed, “Internal Affairs was not allowed to investigate certain uses of excessive force, or report the conduct to [Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training]”.  Drozdowski reported he knew certain members of the department did not have proper “Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training” licensing.

The lawsuit, in large part, also focused on Drozdowski being placed on leave and being ordered to take a “fitness-for-duty exam”.  The suit claims it was punitive for Drozdowski filing complaints.

It said results for the fitness-for-duty exam would not be private, and other people could see part of the exam.  The suit says the city jumped to the fitness-for-duty exam too early if there were real issues with his performance.  He claims, “If the City had legitimate concerns regarding Lt. Drozdowski’s job performance, it should have provided him with documentation, training, and/or mentorship before taking a significant step like placing him on administrative leave and ordering a fitness-for-duty exam.”  The suit also argues that the City had legitimate concerns, it should have placed Lt. Drozdowski on a performance improvement plan (PIP), but it did not.

Drozdowski says he retired early from the Duluth Police Department “protect the benefits and pension he spent decades earning.”

He says he’s suing over the “Minnesota Whistleblower Act and the Minnesota Human Rights Act to hold the City accountable.”

In 2003, Drozdowski was hired by the Duluth Police as a patrol officer, where he was assigned to serve and patrol Downtown and Central Hillside.  Drozdowski described himself as, “[leading] major public safety efforts, built community-policing programs, commanded the Behavioral Health Unit and Crisis Negotiation Team, coordinated large city events, and volunteered for more than twenty-five years with the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Rescue Squad as a search-and-rescue canine handler.”