By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Otter Tail County, according to a press release issued by the Minnesota division  of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), has agreed to pay a former inmate $200,000. This follows the inmate dropping a lawsuit which cited, in December 2024, “extreme, punitive treatment” at the county detention center in Fergus Falls.

The county, in addition to the financial settlement, agreed to changes and policies at the county jail. They include, but are not limited to, correctional officers reporting when another correctional officer withholds food or water as a disciplinary measure and requiring meaningful periodic welfare checks at the county jail.

On Oct. 16, 2025, Ramsey Kettle dismissed his lawsuit against the Otter Tail County Jail and Otter Tail County Jail staff pursuant to the settlement agreement in which Otter Tail County agreed to implement the policy changes.

“Mr. Kettle’s settlement has established policies that will help to protect the rights of everyone in the jail’s care in the future,” said ACLU-Minnesota staff attorney Catherine Ahlin-Halversen. “This case is about accountability and the recognition that constitutional rights do not stop at a prison door.”

County Sheriff Barry Fitzgibbons, in a response to the settlement, said, “What occurred should not have happened and we have implemented additional safeguards to ensure that this type of situation does not happen again.”