HARDIN – The south-central Montana town of Hardin is without a police force again.
Mayor Kim Hammond tells the Billings Gazette that officer Brandon Brashear left on Jan. 16 for personal reasons.
He was the last of three officers the city hired last year to create the city’s first police department since 1976.
The city hired Police Chief Jeffrey Arntz last April from Buckner, Mo., where he served in the same role. Brashear and Brashear’s wife, Francesca Brashear, followed Arntz to Hardin from Buckner.
But the city in September got rid of Francesca Brashear and Arntz, leaving Brandon Brashear patrolling the streets on his own.
Officials say the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office will perform law enforcement duties in Hardin until a new police force is formed.