SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden admits the arrest numbers released following the state’s first Operation Prairie Thunder operation were wrong. Last week, we were told that a three-day joint patrol had led to hundreds of arrests.
It turns out the actual number may be significantly lower than that. KELOLAND News spoke with the governor, who explained what led to the incorrect report.
Last week, Governor Rhoden announced that the highway patrol and local authorities had made a significant number of arrests during the first operation, Prairie Thunder patrol, in the Sioux Falls area.
“We worked side by side with local law enforcement, and during that three-day period, there were 174 drug arrests, including 44 felony arrests,” said Governor Rhoden last week.
However, 174 people were not arrested for drugs, in fact the number is much lower than that. Monday, we talked with the governor hoping to get some clarification.
“It was 174 total drug arrests, but that number, the issue arose on what that number represented; it’s not 174 individuals, it was the total number of charges, so one individual, per se could have three drug charges, three different charges, but just one person, so it doesn’t represent 174 individual arrests, said Rhoden.
Rhoden says the Department of Public Safety routinely reports the total number of charges as arrests.
“I was also unclear about that, but that’s the way they’ve reported it. It is routine for them, not for us,” said Rhoden.
Despite the confusion over numbers, Governor Rhoden says at the end of the day it was a significant success and more patrols are planned for the future.
Monday evening the Department of Public Safety responded to a request for more information on the number of arrests. They tell us they are working on gathering accurate numbers and should have them available to us by Tuesday mid-afternoon.
