Alan Sorensen Havre Daily News asorensen@havredailynews.com
The Havre Police Department was put on the hot seat during the city council meeting Monday night by three women who complained about incidents in which they said police went beyond the line of duty. “Last Friday night, I had a spontaneous discussion with people about my police department,” Mayor Bob Rice told the council at its mid- October meeting. “I asked them to come here to talk with you (during the public comment portion at the end of the meeting).” Two of the women had filed c omp l a i n t s wi t h t h e p o l i c e department concerning pol ice handling of the burglary of the Havre Public Schools bus garage on Aug. 28. Among the worries they expressed was the possibility of retaliation from police if they filed complaints about what they thought was behavior that went beyond department policy. They also complained that the process used to charge the three 17-year-olds was confusing. The third woman hadn’t filed a complaint, but questioned the level of force police used to gain admittance to what they suspected was an underage drinking party in March. “People are afraid of retaliation,” Rice said. “Mr. (council member Bob) Kaftan came in and talked to me. He was concerned that we were alienating the community, alienating the kids.” Ri c e asked Te r ry Schend, chairman of the Police and Fire Committee, to schedule a committee meeting to discuss the complaints. Schend scheduled the meeting for 6:30 p. m. Oct. 30. Pat ty Donne s, one of the complainants, said that an off-duty officer responding to a call had told a teen who had run from police that if he had been on-duty, he would have pulled his gun. “I don’t know procedures, but you can’t sweep it under the table,” said Donnes, who added that she had filed a formal complaint with the police department. Julie Nelson said she filed a complaint largely to promote change in the department. “I would hope that by talking, something could be done for the next family,” Nelson said. “I hope the information (about the Oct. 30 meeting) will get out for any other families that feel the same way.” Police Chief George Tate said he previously met with both of the women and thought the problems had been resolved, but welcomed the opportunity to further improve department policy. “The treatment the parents got during the invest igat ion is in question,” Tate said. “They were told they may be involved in some litigation because a Hill County deputy got hurt.” He said the charging process was mixed up, too, causing confusion for the parents. The problem arose when an officer spoke with the city attorney And was told that the boys would be charged as adults. The officer then filed the charges directly through the county attorney’s office. Tate explained that any time a juvenile is arrested, the charges must be taken to juvenile court before the youths can be charged as adults and the charges moved to district court. “There were a couple of weeks where the parents didn’t know what was going to happen,” he said. “They just felt we weren’t professional. “I sympathize with them on that issue,” he added. “It’s bad enough to have a child in trouble with the law, and then have the process be confusing. So I’ve taken steps to have that handled in the future.” Tate also commended his officers for preventing further burglaries to the Havre Middle School and Havre High School. “I’m proud of the guys,” he said. “They caught a burglary in progress. We did a very good job. We not only caught the people in the act, but we prevented future crime from occurring also.” Tate said the teens picked up keys to the high school while vandalizing the bus garage and indicated that they intended to break into the middle school, too. “The kids own up to it,” he said. “It was the way the charges came out. The process was confusing for them (and their parents).” A third woman, Toni Brandt, said police kicked in the door to her husband’s office during the incident in March. The police department subsequently paid for the door, she said. “They show a lot of disrespect for children,” Brandt said. “It’s hard enough as it is. I’d just like to see progress.” Brandt didn’t file a formal complaint, so the police department didn’t investigate or take any action regarding the officers’ actions. The public’s hesitancy to file formal complaints has been an ongoing concern of Rice and Schend. At a Police and Fire Committee on Aug. 9 that was recounted in an Aug. 13 Daily News story, both men expressed concern that residents were leery of f i l ing complaints against police officers for fear of retaliation. At that meeting, Tate said that unless people fill out official complaint forms he has little recourse other than to talk to the officer. If a complaint is filed, he said, the investigation is turned over to another law enforcement agency. “People will complain,” Schend said, “but they won’t fill out a complaint form. I asked them to come talk to the city council, but they refuse, saying they’re afraid of retaliation. Mike (former Police Chief Barthel) and I talked about that on a couple of occasions.” Tate said he would encourage people to fill out formal complaint forms if they see officers breaking the law or violating police policy, otherwise there is little he could do. Tate said he looks forward to the committee meeting. “The meeting that we have on the 30th will probably resolve all those issues,” he said. “They’re just good, hardworking Havre residents who have had a bad experience with my office and I will work with them.”
