Chief deputy charged with unlawful arrests of Spirit Lake citizens to make court appearance Jan. 16

The charges against Travis Carlson were the result of two concurrent investigations into misconduct by him and his supervisor, former sheriff Ethan Rode, launched by the Benson County State’s Attorney’s Office. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office arrested Carlson in July.

Casey Miller, chief agent for the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations, said the investigation into Rode, who resigned in July 2025, has since closed, but the investigation into Carlson is ongoing and will likely stay active until the court case is closed.

Benson County Special Assistant State’s Attorney Oliver Bromke previously referred to Carlson in court as a “wandering cop,” pointing to his history of bouncing between departments. “Whenever he is or gets close to being held to account for bad actions he’s taken as an officer, he just goes somewhere else to start the process over again,” Bromke said at a bond hearing on July 25.

A felony dispositional conference is a court hearing with the goal of resolving a case before it goes to trial. Carlson’s jury trial is scheduled for Feb. 10.

His attorney, Tanya Johnson Martinez, did not respond to questions about expectations for the conference. Bromke declined to answer questions about whether there is talk of a plea deal, saying he cannot comment on cases while they are open.