Otter Tail County Jail Agrees to Reforms, Pays Settlement
Otter Tail County has reached a settlement in a lawsuit alleging prolonged deprivation of food and water at the county detention center, agreeing to pay $200,000 and to implement policy changes aimed at preventing similar incidents. The reforms and new documentation requirements matter to local residents because they affect jail oversight, county liability, and the treatment of people in custody.
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Otter Tail County has agreed to a settlement that led a former inmate to dismiss his lawsuit, and the county will implement policy reforms while paying $200,000 to resolve the case. The settlement was described in a press release shared by the ACLU of Minnesota and reported by the Fergus Falls Daily Journal on November 10, 2025 via Corrections1.
The reforms announced as part of the settlement target several practices that the lawsuit said allowed abusive treatment to persist. Among the changes, the jail will stop applying disciplinary segregation time to incidents after a person has been released and later rebooked. The county will also require staff to report and document when another correctional officer withholds food or water as a disciplinary measure.
New welfare check procedures will require correctional officers to document whether they could see the person through the cell door window, whether they observed signs of life, whether they observed mental health concerns, whether safety was compromised by biohazard material, and whether the person had access to water. The changes are intended to create clearer records and greater accountability for how detained people are monitored and treated.
The underlying complaint in the suit alleged that the plaintiff, identified as Ramsey Kettle, suffered prolonged withholding of food and water and severe mistreatment by multiple correctional officers. The complaint also alleged false documentation and a cover up of the events in question. After the settlement terms were reached, Kettle dismissed the lawsuit.
County sheriff leadership was contacted for comment during reporting on the Daily Journal piece, but the sheriff was out of the office at the time. The ACLU of Minnesota shared the press release that summarized the settlement and the planned policy changes.
For Otter Tail County residents the settlement carries both practical and symbolic implications. Financially, the $200,000 payment represents a direct cost to the county. Politically and socially, the agreement signals scrutiny of detention practices and an opportunity for improved training, supervision, and transparency in a local institution that affects community safety and civil liberties. Clearer documentation requirements may reduce future disputes about care in custody and create records that outside monitors or family members can use to assess conditions.
The settlement aligns with broader public expectations and legal norms against cruel or inhumane treatment in detention, and it follows a pattern of advocacy groups pushing for reforms in local correctional facilities. The county now faces the work of implementing the changes and demonstrating that new procedures meaningfully alter daily practice. The reporting on November 10, 2025 by the Fergus Falls Daily Journal via Corrections1 and the ACLU release provide the current public record of the agreement.
