FARGO (KFGO) - Cass County Administrator Keith Berndt has been suspended with pay.
A resolution approved by the county commission says its a result of an investigation conducted after an incident at Chicago's O'Hare Airport in Aug. that included airline staff and others with knowledge of what took place.
A report from a Cass County deputy says Berndt had a dispute with a flight attendant, who believed he was drunk. Berndt was eventually removed from the plane. Berndt denied that he was drunk and said he planned to undergo in-patient alcohol and mental health treatment in Sept.
Berndt, the former county engineer, took over as administrator in 2011. Berndt will be paid while the commission begins the process of firing him. He has a right to appeal.
Berndt was found not guilty two years ago of misdemeanor assault in Moorhead. He was accused of assaulting the teenage son of his girlfriend.
In 2011, Berndt was given a suspended jail sentence and fined after he pleaded guilty to DWI in Minnesota's Otter Tail County.