Why did Gov. Greg Gianforte decide not to honor the service of Capitol police officer Brian Sicknick who was killed during the insurrection on January 6? He gave his life to protect members of Congress, of which Gianforte recently was a member. Of any of our governors across the country he should have honored Officer Sicknick. Officer Sicknick, just weeks prior to his death, had been protecting Congressman Gianforte while he worked at the Capitol. A spokeswoman for Governor Gianforte claimed “the fallen officers had no ties to the state” as his reason for not honoring Officer Sicknick.
This is not how the governors of Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, and many other states across our country saw it. They lowered the flag. As a Park Ranger with 18 years of law enforcement experience I am well aware of the duties and hazards associated with protecting the public’s safety and I am appalled with Gianforte’s decision. I wonder what the 3,000 plus Montana law enforcement officers think about his refusal to lower the flag. What does our state’s chief law enforcement officer, Austin Knudsen, and Steve Lavin, head of the Montana Highway Patrol, think about his action?
Craig McClure
Polson