In response to news reports about state investigations into allegedly unethical and illegal behavior by Lake County law enforcement officers, the legislative Law and Justice Interim Committee has decided to formally address the allegations, likely at its April meeting in Helena.
Meanwhile, the Montana Attorney General’s Office confirmed that it’s investigating two separate complaints of perjury and obstruction of justice by members of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, adding to the ongoing criminal and ethics investigations conducted by other state agencies into Lake County law enforcement.
At the Law and Justice Interim Committee’s regularly scheduled meeting in Helena on Dec. 15, committee members indicated they will likely invite Attorney General Steve Bullock and Lake County Sheriff Jay Doyle, along with officials from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Public Safety Officer Standards and Training Council (POST), possibly among others, to the meeting, which hasn’t been officially scheduled yet.
Chairman Jim Shockley, a Republican senator from Victor and candidate for state attorney general in 2012, brought up the issue because he had recently read news reports detailing allegations such as poaching, a deputy gaining inappropriate status based on a decade of lying about his military record, assault on fellow officers, a cover-up pertaining to a boating death and other improper activity by officers from various law agencies in Lake County.
The Flathead Beacon first reported on the allegations last month, citing state investigative documents. Officials from FWP confirmed an ongoing investigation into the poaching allegations, while POST has multiple ongoing investigations into Lake County law enforcement dealing with various allegations that could potentially lead to some officers’ losing their law certification, including Sheriff’s Deputy Dan Duryee and Ronan Police Chief Dan Wadsworth.
Given its responsibility for law and justice oversight, Shockley said the committee is “obligated to move forward,” adding that he had heard “rumors” of misconduct before.
“This appears to be a little bit more than a rumor and it also appears to much more serious than the rumors I’d heard,” Shockley said.
Legislative staff has been asked to clear up questions over the scope of the committee’s authority, including in matters dealing with ongoing investigations, and the proper manner for proceeding. The meeting is being pushed back until at least April, rather than the next regularly scheduled meeting in February, to allow time for answering procedural questions and to give a chance for ongoing investigations to possibly conclude.
The Law and Justice Interim Committee is a joint bipartisan committee of the Montana Legislature that meets between legislative sessions and monitors the activities of the Department of Corrections, Department of Justice, Office of the State Public Defender and Judicial Branch.
Last week, the committee’s attorney, David Niss, told the Beacon that committee member Steve Gallus, a Democratic senator from Butte, has requested an opinion from Todd Everts, director of legislative legal services, on how the committee should proceed.
The committee voted 6-3 at its Dec. 15 meeting to hold a hearing. Voting in favor were Shockley, Rep. Steve Lavin, Rep. Ken Peterson, Rep. Michael More, Rep. Greg Hinkle and Sen. Terry Murphy, all Republicans. The three opposing votes were cast by Democrats: Rep. Mike Menahan, Rep. Margaret MacDonald and Sen. Lynda Moss by proxy. Three members were absent.
Menahan said the interim committee meets so infrequently that it should focus its attention on policy rather than oversight. MacDonald questioned whether the committee has jurisdiction over such matters.
But Peterson said the committee should put “pressure” on law officials, including the sheriff and attorney general, to address the allegations. Hinkle made a similar statement, saying the committee must act “on behalf of the citizens of this state.” There was discussion of inviting Flathead County law officials too, but it’s unclear why, as none of the reported allegations involve Flathead law enforcement.
“Whatever this committee can do to look into the background of this issue and maybe why it hasn’t been dealt with from higher levels – I do think it warrants a further investigation by this committee,” Hinkle said.
The only person to speak during public comment was Jim Smith, Helena’s mayor and the lobbyist for both the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association and the Montana County Attorneys Association. He offered his assistance should the committee need it.
In a later interview, Smith said he has lobbied on behalf of law enforcement since 1995 and he’s “never seen an interim committee or a regular committee of the Legislature seek to involve itself in what I’ll call a criminal investigation.”
Smith said he hadn’t spoken with Sheriff Doyle or Lake County Attorney Mitch Young since the news broke but believed “the Lake County guys would respond to the invite.”
“The sheriffs I know do not in any way, shape or form condone corruption,” he said. “The main thing they have going for them is public trust – if that is lost or compromised or diminished, that’s the last thing on earth the sheriffs association wants.”
John Doran, communications officer for the state Department of Justice, confirmed a recent report that his agency is investigating two complaints into the Lake County Sheriff’s Office based on a request from Sheriff Doyle. Doran said Doyle believed it was appropriate for an outside agency to investigate complaints that deal with his own department.
“Sheriff Doyle asked and we obliged,” Doran said.
One complaint, made by Lake County Sheriff’s Detective Steve Kendley, alleges that Doyle instructed a deputy not to investigate an incident that occurred in Ronan, Doran said, adding that he could provide no more details. Mike Gehl made the other complaint, accusing Undersheriff Karey Reynolds of perjury for allegedly misrepresenting his law experience in a search warrant he applied for, Doran said.
Reynolds recently graduated from the Montana Law Enforcement Academy’s 12-week basic training course in Helena, a requirement from POST after it was discovered that Reynolds’ last verifiable employment in law enforcement was 2000, far exceeding the allowed 36-month gap in service.
Kendley ran against Doyle in the 2010 sheriff’s election with Gehl serving as his treasurer. Sheriff’s Detective Dan Yonkin also ran in the race. Kendley lost to Doyle by fewer than 300 votes.
Doran said state Department of Justice investigators were in Lake County last week. He figured the investigations would likely be wrapped up “in the next few weeks.” A previous investigation into the sheriff’s office by the Department of Justice was passed along to the Lake County attorney’s office earlier this year.
It is not known when FWP’s poaching case, which has been ongoing for more than a year, will be completed. But at least two of the POST investigations are expected to reach the hearing level soon.
In a Beacon story published Dec. 7, POST compliance officer Clay Coker said cases involving Duryee of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Ronan Police Chief Wadsworth were heading toward contested case hearings before the POST council possibly within “the next 30 to 60 days.”
Wadsworth is accused of falsifying documents, while the exact nature of Duryee’s investigation is unclear, though a POST investigatory report from last year found that Duryee was granted command of the Special Response Team without formal training based on his false claims of military experience, among other allegations.
Coker also noted that there are more POST investigations involving officers from Lake County law enforcement agencies making their way to the hearing level.