Justice Dept. Watchdog Moves to Settle Misconduct Charges with Former Whitefish Police Chief

The state Justice Department’s watchdog bureau responsible for overseeing law enforcement certification in Montana has agreed to a settlement with former Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial, who retired abruptly in August 2021 amid misconduct charges after leading the department for two decades. The conditions of the settlement would permanently prohibit Dial from serving as a public safety officer in Montana while allowing him to retain his law enforcement certificate.

The allegations against Dial are detailed in a 12-page complaint by the Montana Public Safety Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) and are based on evidence including hundreds of text messages exchanged between Dial and Matthew A. Marshall, a former Whitefish security consultant now serving a six-year federal prison sentence for defrauding wealthy Whitefish philanthropist Michael Goguen, against whom Dial has an outstanding lawsuit airing a wide range of grievances.

Speaking to a three-member committee of the POST council on Dec. 21, Dial said the case against him was “based on lies” but that he was prepared to admit to making “poor judgment.”

“This entire complaint is based on lies and the assumption of what some people thought I did,” Dial told the POST council and its case-status committee members in a conference call. “So, I am not going to admit to any guilt. What I said was I will provide a written affidavit that I would not be a police officer in the state of Montana or any other state. I’m 74 years old. I have no desire to be a cop again with the environment the way it is.”

According to the Aug. 25, 2021, POST complaint against Dial, the former police chief “engaged in, condoned, and/or failed to disclose to appropriate authorities, acts of corruption.” The sprawling complaint accuses Dial of colluding with Marshall to entrap a fellow Whitefish police officer; falsifying information and lying to city, state and federal investigators; allowing Marshall, an “unvetted civilian with no POST certification or law enforcement credentials,” physical access to the Whitefish Police Department, access to information on confidential and ongoing police investigations, and access to confidential criminal justice information that is protected by state law; and volunteering to drop a speeding ticket that Dial issued to a friend of Marshall’s “as a favor.”

Dial adamantly denied the allegations and said he’d only admit to making “poor judgment” when he issued the speeding ticket to Marshall’s friends and then offered to “make the ticket go away,” which he described “as a practical joke.”

“I do take responsibility for making poor judgment,” Dial said.

During POST’s case status hearing, the three-member case status committee considered two options for a settlement. The first option, Option 1, to which Dial has agreed, allows the former police chief to retain his POST certificate but stipulates that he may not return to any public safety officer position in Montana.

“Should Mr. Dial ever return to public safety, POST would initiate proceedings to revoke his certificate by issuing a notice of POST action. This resolution would require Mr. Dial to admit wrongdoing and permanently remove his ability to work as a public safety officer in Montana,” according to POST Executive Director Timothy Allred.

Another option the POST committee considered, Option 2, was to issue Dial a letter including a voluntary surrender. A voluntary surrender of his law enforcement certificate does not require an admission of wrongdoing, although Dial’s certificate would be removed, and he would be barred from working as public safety officer in Montana. In conversations with POST investigators, Dial indicated he would contest this option.

The committee voted 2-1 in favor of Option 1, with Committee Chair Jim Thomas voting in the minority.

“It’s not just poor judgment on a practical joke on a speeding ticket as far as I’m concerned,” Thomas, a public representative of the committee, said. “There are a lot of things here that I have a problem with.”

Committee Member Matthew Sayler expressed reservations about the settlement, but said he’d vote in favor of the option “in the interest of time and resources.”

“Honestly, I could go either way but I’m leaning toward Option 1 just in the interest of time and resources,” Sayler, a law enforcement representative from Butte, said. “I’m not exactly comfortable with the settlement but if it saves us money in court in the long run and we have resources we can apply elsewhere I guess I’m okay with it.”

The third committee member, Conner Smith, a law enforcement representative working for the Justice Department, also voted for Option 1.

“Either option removes his ability to act as a public safety officer in Montana,” according to Katrina Bolger, an investigator and paralegal with POST.

Per the committee’s decision, POST will send Dial a formal agreement and a letter containing findings of “sustained” regarding him making false statements to investigators, as well as engaging in inappropriate communications and providing inappropriate access to confidential criminal justice information to a civilian.

If Dial were to refuse the settlement, or make a counteroffer, the committee will make a recommendation as to what sanction should be applied or about whether to accept the counteroffer or not. POST’s policy and procedure surrounding officer misconduct allegations can be found here.