Folson Assault Case Appendix

Officer Meehan goes to Folson’s residence alongside the fire department ambulance and gets an initial statement from Folson and her daughter. They mention Folson’s missing phone.

Officer Aubart goes to the bar and interviews Witness 1 in person. Folson’s phone is found in the bar and handed off to Officer Meehan to be returned to Folson. Body camera was on and recording.

Officer Meehan brings Folson’s phone to her at Saint Luke’s and has her sign a medical release. He takes some photos of Folson, and afterwards calls Witness 2 to get their statement.

Officer Anderson responds to a disturbance at the Rustic Bar. Multiple witnesses (Witness Group 9) report a tall black man looking for Rabold.

Officer Anderson responds to a disturbance at the Gopher Bar. Multiple witnesses (Witness Group 9) report a tall black man looking for Rabold.

Officer Anderson responds to a disturbance at the Gopher Bar. Multiple witnesses (Witness Group 9) report a tall black man looking for Rabold.

Officer Schutte responds to the Griak residence after Griak calls 911 due to fear he is being robbed. No evidence of burglary was found and Griak states this is his first time speaking to officers since the incident. Griak states his wife was involved in a bar fight that he “broke up”.

Investigator Temple calls Witness 3 and records the call.

Officers Anderson and Leibried respond to a 911 call from Witness 8 regarding a vehicle at Rabold’s house. The vehicle is believed to belong to the same person who was at the Rustic and Gopher on 9/14 and 9/16 looking for Rabold.

Investigator Nordskog calls Folson back, and she explains her injuries. He requests medical documentation. Folson is hesitant to speak with investigators. Classie Dudley (NAACP President) assists investigators and Folson to get the necessary information.

Officer Leibfried was dispatched back to the Rustic, as the owner now states that video footage is available.

Investigator Temple enters medical records and victim photos into record.

Officer Bodin interviews Witness 6.

Officer Bodin interviews Witness 7. Initially he meets her at her residence, but then they go to the Rustic Bar for her to provide her statement.

Investigator Temple calls Witness 4 and records the call.

Officer Smith goes to the public safety building to interview Witness Group 5.

Duluth NAACP shares medical letter stating that Folson’s injuries meet state statute of “substantial bodily harm” with police department.

Witness 1 was on the other side of the bar and did not witness the start of the fight. After the fight started, they saw Folson on the ground being held down by one of the two men. Witness 1 says the man wasn’t assaulting Folson at that point, and assumed he was holding her down to stop the fight.

Witness 2 told the police that Rabold was in the bar, and that Rabold’s girlfriend was involved in the fight with Folson. Witness 2 didn’t see what caused the fight or the fight itself, but they did see Folson and Griak’s wife (who he thought was Rabold’s girlfriend) rolling on the floor near the pull-tab machine. Witness 2 says he saw Rabold and another man pull the two women apart.

Witness 3 saw the fight, but didn’t know the cause. She says that Michelle and Griak’s wife fell to the ground, and Griak tried to pull his wife off of Folson. Witness 3 saw Griak smashing Folson’s head against the ground, Rabold making stomping motions at Folson’s head, and stated that Griak grabbed Folson’s throat at one point. A female bartender tried to break up the fight. Witness 3 says Folson was too drunk to defend herself, and that she saw Rabold holding some of Folson’s hair extensions in his hand after the fight. Someone in the parking lot told Witness 3 that Folson lived nearby and would be okay. Witness 3 saw Folson come back into the bar and ask that they call 911, but they didn’t. She stated that Rabold left but came back to get his keys from the area where the fight took place.

Witness 4 saw the fight start, but didn’t hear what was said leading up to it. He saw one of the men start to choke Folson, and the group of them fall to the floor a moment later. He thought one of the men had been trying to keep Folson from attacking another woman, but later realized that wasn’t the case. Witness 4 stated that one of the men, possibly Griak, was hitting Folson’s head against the floor and the other man was kicking her. He stated that it took Folson about 20 - 25 seconds to get up after the bartender broke things up. Witness 4 stated that before the fight Folson stepped towards one of the men and got “close and kind of in his face.” Witness 4 noted that there was a knot on Folson’s head and a lot of blood on her face. He saw Rabold and Griak leave immediately. He witnessed Folson leave and come back, and stated that one of the bartenders threatened to call the cops on her. Folson then left, and someone in the parking lot told Witness 4 she’d be okay because she lives nearby. Witness 4 heard that Folson passed out in the parking lot. He also stated that Folson was yelling at one of the bartenders when she came back into the bar.

Witness Group 5 walked into the bar and saw Folson and Griak’s wife slow dancing. Later they heard a scuffle and went over to investigate. They saw Folson laying face down in a pool of blood. Witness Group 5 saw one of the men (possibly Griak) holding Folson’s hair and bashing her face into the ground. They saw Rabold kick her in the head once. One of the people in the group stated that Rabold put his arm around her and “said something to the effect of ‘you want in on this?’"

Witness 6 saw Folson drinking through the night, and saw that things had become tense during a conversation between Folson, Griak, and Griak’s wife. Witness 6 notes that Griak’s wife said something along the lines of: “that’s my husband” while pointing at Folson. Witness 6 saw Rabold stomp on Folson’s head, and Griak hit her head against the ground. Witness 7 (bartender) helped pull Griak off of her, and Folson started swinging at her. Witness 6 notes that the group left through the back door, and saw Rabold come back later for his keys. Witness 6 believes that Griak’s wife started the fight.

Witness 7 stated she was fearful about her safety because of social media accounts sharing her address and personal information. She stated that Folson was intoxicated and that Witness 7 had personally served her several drinks. She thought Folson had been drinking at the Gopher Bar before coming to the Rustic. She knew Folson from working at the Rustic for several months. Witness 7 stated Folson told her she had had a hard day and was thinking about quitting her job.

Witness 7 saw that another patron found Folson’s wallet at the bar and returned it to her. Folson was grateful and bought her friends a round of drinks. Folson went over to a table where Griak was seated. Witness 7 was at the beer taps directly across from the group. She said that Folson started “being racist” and saying “this is my husband.” Witness 7 notes that they couldn’t hear everything but thought Folson was talking about how Griak’s wife had recently married a white man. Griak’s wife asked Folson to leave them alone. Witness 7 did not see Folson grab Griak’s wife or put hands on her. The next thing Witness 7 saw was Folson facedown on the floor with her right hand grabbing Griak’s wife’s hair. Witness 7 ran over and tried to get Folson to let go of her hair, including trying to pry her fingers open. Witness 7 did not see what Rabold was doing at this time. Folson finally let go of Griak’s wife’s hair, and Witness 7 asked Griak to let Folson get up. When Folson got up she was bleeding from the head. Folson and the others walked out the back door of the bar. Witness 7 noticed she had blood on her arms and went to wash off. When Witness 7 returned she heard yelling outside but did not investigate.

Folson came back to the bar very upset and asked Witness 7 to call the cops. Witness 7 asked if that was really what Folson wanted and offered to call an ambulance. Folson grabbed her, shook her, and said “I never do things like this” and left again.

Witness 8 called 911 to report that a white Dodge Durango had pulled up outside Rabold’s house and a Black male “wearing baggy clothes” had gotten out and gone up to the house. Witness 8 was concerned that this was related to the incident at the Rustic. Witness 8 said the man yelled at the house. Police state in the report that this vehicle belongs to a man who has shown up at the Rustic and Gopher multiple times looking for Rabold. 

Witnesses reported a tall Black man with face tattoos came into the Rustic Bar and later the Gopher Bar shouting that he was looking for Scott or Scotty. He returned to the Gopher Bar again later that night.  Witness Group 9 described him variously as “scary” “sketchy” and “seven feet tall.” After each incident, he left in a white vehicle before officers arrived.

Upon arriving on scene, Officer Meehan reported that Folson “woke up in a pool of her own blood.” he described her injuries: “Folson had a cut on her forehead that was approximately an inch long. Her face, mouth, and shirt were all covered in blood. She had a large bump starting to form on her right forehead near her hair line. I could see some of her hair extensions were pulled out.”

Folson told Officer Meehan that she came to the bar after getting off work and had about 5 shots. She stated that she did not remember being assaulted. 

Officer Bodin spoke with Folson on the phone on 9/14, after he had reviewed patrol officers’ reports about the incident. He told Folson that he would be requesting video footage from the Rustic Bar, and that he would keep Folson informed of the investigation. He states that he tried contacting the bar the same day, but was not able to reach anyone. Folson called him back the next day, 9/15, for an update. He told her that he had not yet spoken to anyone at the bar. Folson stated that she had the name of  someone she had been told was involved in the assault, and provided the name Scott Rabold.” Officer Bodin asked whether this was a witness. He states that Folson “became very upset with me for referring to Rabold as a witness” and clarified that Rabold assaulted her.

Investigator Nordskog spoke to Folson on the phone on 9/16. Folson stated that she had a broken nose, black eyes, bumps all over, and two teeth going through her bottom lip. Folson states that she did not receive stitches because she left against medical advice. Nordskog stated that they need medical documentation as proof of the level of injury to determine the criminal charge. Folson stated that she signed a medical release, and Nordskog responded that medical releases can “take days or weeks” and additional documentation would be useful. Nordskog states that Folson was apprehensive about speaking to or meeting with him to discuss the incident further, due to mistrust. She was also apprehensive about providing police with further photographs and medical documentation. She also said she was uncomfortable with Officer Bodin, and that she wanted to speak with Classie Dudley before working with the police further. 

Investigator Nordskog later spoke with Dudley while Dudley was enroute to Folson’s home. Dudley said she would talk with Folson about what she was comfortable sharing with the police. A short time later, Dudley called Nordskog back and stated that Folson would be sending photographs and medical documentation via email. Nordskog states that at the time of his report he had not received this email.

Per Officer Meehan’s report, Folson’s daughter states that she was working at YWCA when Folson showed up covered in blood without her cell phone. Folson’s daughter called 911.

Per Officer Schutte’s report, Griak called 911 in the early morning on 9/18 as he was fearful of somebody breaking into his house. Officers responded and found no evidence of burglary. At the time of this 911 call, Griak explained to Officer Schutte that he was involved in a bar fight a few days earlier in which his wife was involved and another woman was assaulted. Griak states that he never interacted with officers as he and wife left the bar prior to their arrival. Griak states that he was expecting a phone call from police and would like to sit down with investigators with his attorney present to discuss the incident.

Officer Temple states that according to St. Lukes, Folson’s hand x-rays are negative and there is laceration inside of her mouth. He initially states that her nasal fracture was “apparently negative.” He later states that an ED summary note mentions that the CT scan had “no acute findings” but that it also says “it does appear she has a nasal fracture.” He states that she has a scalp hematoma and questionable minimally displaced bilateral bone nasal fractures.

You can see these documents in the Downloads section below.

Officer Liebfried describes the video contents in his report:

• At 2309 Griak’s wife [See Officer Schutte’s report, pg 7, 25, 42]) returns an item believed to be a cell phone to Folson. Folson appears appreciative and they spend 10-15 minutes together afterwards. At this time, Folson moves with Griak’s wife to a table with other people.
• Between 2320 and 2325, things appear to get more “heated.” Folson starts to get in the face of the Griak’s wife and then grabs her by head and starts pulling her down
• The group, including two males (Griak and Rabold), takes Folson to the ground. It appears Folson still has the Griak’s wife’s hair in her hand at this time.
• As they are on the ground, the male with a gray beard wearing a hat (Griak) comes up and “kicks Folson in the head.” “He appears to put his foot on her head and her face as she’s stuck to the ground.” Griak appears to be on top of her and pinning her down. “[Griak] eventually grabs Folson by the head and smashes it onto the bar floor. This happened approximately two times.”