Minnesota Trooper Took Woman's Nude Photos From Phone: Police

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — A Minnesota State Patrol trooper is accused of taking a woman’s cell phone, opening it up and sending her private photos to his own phone. Albert Kuehne, 36, of Dayton, was charged with two counts of harassment with bias.

According to a criminal complaint, Kuehne worked at the scene of a single-car accident at Interstate 94 and Cedar Avenue. The driver of the car was a 25-year-old woman, and Kuehne detained her as a possible drunken driver, the complaint said. Ultimately, she was taken to a hospital, where she was treated and released.

When she returned home, her boyfriend was using the woman’s laptop computer, which is linked to her cell phone, according to the complaint. The laptop records showed the woman’s phone was accessed and nude photos of her were texted from it to an unknown phone, the complaint states.

Her boyfriend called the phone number, and the person who answered eventually identified himself as Kuehne, according to the complaint. The woman called a lawyer, who reported the incident, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began an investigation.

Kuehne’s squad video showed him leading the woman to his squad car, police said. Along the way, the woman took out her phone and, when he realized that, Kuehne demanded that she give him the phone, the complaint states.

The cell phone records indicate the photos were sent from the woman’s phone at 4:44, and the squad video showed Kuehne alone in his squad at that time while paramedics treated the woman, according to investigators.

Using a search warrant, investigators seized Kuehne’s phone and found three photos of the woman on his phone, according to the complaint.