The U.S. Department of Justice and Missoula County have reached a settlement in the agency’s investigation into the way the county attorney’s office decides whether to prosecute sexual assault cases.
The agreement, to be announced Tuesday, comes two years after the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division announced it was going to investigate the way Missoula police, University of Montana campus police and the county attorney’s office handle such cases.
The law enforcement agencies reached agreements in May 2013 that called for new policies and training. County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg had refused to cooperate, questioning whether the DOJ had the authority to investigate his office.
A news conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday in Missoula to announce the agreement. County commissioners are scheduled to approve the agreement before the news conference.