St. Paul police officials have asked the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to review a complaint the department received about the Ramsey County sheriff’s residency at the time he took office.

Bob Fletcher, who was previously Ramsey County sheriff and is now Vadnais Heights mayor, asked St. Paul police on Monday to conduct a criminal investigation into Sheriff Jack Serier under a Minnesota statutue regarding “illegally assuming” public office.

The police department turned the case over to the BCA on Wednesday “to avoid any conflict of interest,” said Steve Linders, a St. Paul police spokesman. Serier is a St. Paul police employee on loan to the sheriff’s office and Fletcher previously worked for the police department.

Fletcher’s complaint includes details that he says shows Serier remained a resident of Stillwater after he became sheriff in January 2017. Elected officials in Minnesota must maintain residency where they serve.

“I’m glad the BCA will have an opportunity to review the facts,” Serier said in a statement Wednesday. “I lived in Ramsey County prior to my appointment to sheriff and continue to do so today.”

The Ramsey County Board appointed Serier, who had been chief sheriff’s deputy, as sheriff after Matt Bostrom retired halfway through his second term as sheriff.

Serier is running for sheriff in November’s election and Fletcher has said he will decide this month whether to run for sheriff again.