WILLMAR, MN (trfnews.i234.me) – Christopher Todd Flatten, a 39-year-old Kandiyohi County sheriff’s deputy from Atwater, is facing multiple charges following a squad vehicle crash on July 18. Flatten, who was on duty at the time, has been summoned to appear in Kandiyohi County District Court on September 4 for a gross misdemeanor charge of third-degree driving while impaired—refusal to test, and a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree DWI.
The crash occurred when Flatten’s squad car rolled multiple times at the intersection of County Road 4 and First Avenue East in Gennessee Township. Witnesses reported that Flatten’s vehicle was swerving erratically and speeding before the crash. Despite a search warrant, Flatten refused to provide a blood or urine sample at the hospital.
This incident comes as Flatten is also embroiled in an unrelated lawsuit accusing him of discrimination and false arrest. The lawsuit, filed by the ACLU of Minnesota on behalf of Derrick Gilbert, alleges that Flatten wrongfully arrested Gilbert, misidentifying him as another Black man wanted on an arrest warrant. The charges against Gilbert were later dismissed.
Flatten, a former Willmar police officer, is not currently in custody.