Suit against police officers is dismissed

Thursday, September 11, 2008 1:05 PM CDT

A lawsuit filed against Watertown police officers who handled a case where a Maranatha Baptist Bible College student died in 2001 has been dismissed at the request of both the plantiff and the defendant.

Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb has dismissed the complaint against Watertown police officer Marcia Repta and former officers Terrence Krueger, Michael Hogan and Kenneth Severn.

An equal protection lawsuit filed in federal court in September 2007 claimed local police did not properly investigate Joshua Leffring's death on the Maranatha campus on Sept. 29, 2001. Police reports indicated the physical evidence in the case showed Leffring's death was caused by strangulation.

Leffring's family, through the complaint, originally disputed that Joshua Leffring, 22, would not have taken his own life.

Watertown Police Chief Tim Roets said this morning that he is pleased with Crabb's decision. He said the dismissal proves local police officers and the coroner's office did conduct a professional investigation.

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“Our officers, in conjunction with the coroner's office, conducted a professional investigation in this tragic death and I am pleased the claim has been dropped and that the officers involved have been exonerated,” Roets said. “However, our condolences remain with the Leffring family.”