S.D. Highway Patrol conflated arrests made in Rhoden's Prairie Thunder saturation

The Dakota Scout identifies erroneous crime stats used to tout governor's public safety campaign

Flanked by Gov. Larry Rhoden and Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, South Dakota Highway Patrol Superintendent Casey Collins speaks at a February press conference in Sioux Falls. (Joe. Sneve/The. Dakota Scout)

State troopers assigned to southeast South Dakota to hunt guns, drugs and violent offenders didn’t nab as many bad guys as the public was led to believe.

Turns out, drug arrest data released by the South Dakota Highway Patrol this week following the state agency’s first Operation: Prairie Thunder deployment — a state-led saturation patrol that flooded Sioux Falls with a heightened presence of officers — were erroneous, an investigation by The Dakota Scout has revealed.

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