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Ousted Police Chief Sues Columbia Falls Dave Perry alleges city wrongfully terminated him after inmate escaped
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
Columbia Falls’ former police chief who was red earlier this year after an inmate escaped from his custody is suing the city for wrongful termination.
In a lawsuit led in Flathead County District Court this month, Dave Perry accuses City Manager Susan Nicosia of “undermining” the chief’s leadership and initiating an investigation to oust him.
Perry was terminated on July 1 after the city conducted an investigation into a May incident where a man accused of assaulting his girlfriend walked out of the Columbia Falls Police Department. The escape, which occurred under Per- ry’s watch, led to an hour-long manhunt. While city o cials have said Perry’s ter- mination stems from the May escape and his response to it, the former chief stated the city manager wanted him out.
“During her time supervising Perry, Nicosia was con ict avoidant with Perry personally, while she undermined Per- ry’s authority behind his back,” the law- suit states.
According to court documents, Perry received high marks on his most recent job evaluation in 2012.
According to the lawsuit, Christopher Calf Looking was arrested on May 12 for partner or family member assault. Look- ing was kept in an unsecured shower stall at the police station while await- ing a bond hearing because the regular
BRIEFS
St. Ignatius Couple Accused of Animal Cruelty Accepts Plea Deal
The Lake County Sheri ’s O ce removed more than 100 dogs from a St. Ignatius kennel after the owners took a plea deal where attorneys agreed to defer prosecution for 10 years if the couple gave up all but six of their animals.
Nadine and Larry Latzke were charged with felony animal cruelty after authorities removed 11 dogs from LDR Kennel on Dublin Gulch Road in July.
In the plea agreement, the Latzke’s will have to spay or neuter their six remaining dogs that will live at their home as pets. If one of the pets dies in the next 10 years they will not be able to replace it. If the Latzke’s violate the terms of the agreement, county prosecutors could re- le the charges against them.
The Lake County Sheri ’s O ce and
holding cell was closed due to electrical issues. Early that afternoon, Perry took over the inmate watch for the arresting o cer. Soon after, Looking started to yell about a brown recluse spider in the nearby toilet. The inmate told the chief that he could not kill the spider because of his religious beliefs.
Perry directed Looking to stand outside of the shower stall while he looked for the spider. Perry did not nd a spider and when he looked back up, Looking was nowhere to be seen, according to the lawsuit.
Perry was unable to notify the alleged victim that Looking had escaped because he could not nd the arresting o cer’s paperwork with the proper contact infor- mation. Meanwhile, police received a report that Looking returned to the home where he had been arrested earlier in the day, but by the time they arrived the man was already gone. Looking was later apprehended near the Flathead River with the help of Two Bear Air, the Flat- head County Sheri ’s O ce, U.S. Border Patrol and Montana Highway Patrol.
Formal charges were never led against Looking.
Following the escape, some locals were critical of Perry for not informing nearby schools and community members of the ongoing manhunt. But Perry said author- ities knew where the man was and there was no need to inform the public because he did not pose a threat.
Nicosia launched a formal investigation
Lifesavers Animal Rescue of Lake County took possession of the remaining animals at the kennel.
In July, the sheri ’s o ce received a report from someone requesting a welfare check on the dogs at the ken- nel. According to the reporting party, there was a terrible smell coming from the facility and at least one dog had its hair matted and smelled like urine. The reporting party noted that the dog looked to be in poor health.
Upon further investigation, the sher- i ’s o ce found that there had been mul- tiple complaints about the kennel but in the past the owners never let o cers inspect the property.
According to LDR’s website, the cou- ple had been raising “quality puppies” for more than 25 years.
into the escape and found that Perry should be terminated for a “lack of due diligence and sense of public duty.” But Perry’s attor- ney, Doug Scotti, argues that the investiga- tion was biased from the beginning.
“Nicosia’s investigation into Look- ing’s escape from custody was instigated to target Perry for termination,” Scotti wrote in court documents. “Before Nic- osia terminated Perry she had expressed to employees of Columbia Falls, includ- ing to police o cers under the command of Perry, that she wanted to get ride of Perry as Police Chief.”
On June 30, Nicosia met with Perry and asked him to resign because he had committed a “terminable o ense.” Perry refused to resign, so Nicosia red him.
After terminating Perry, Nicosia told the Beacon that the former police chief would be able to appeal the decision.
Perry’s lawsuit asks that a jury decide if he was wrongfully terminated, and he is requesting lost wages and bene ts for up to four years.
Perry began working at the police department in 1978 as a reserve o cer.
Sgt. Sean Murphy became acting chief as the city searches for a new police leader. Earlier this month, White sh and Columbia Falls agreed to have White- sh Assistant Police Chief Mike Ferda help the department eight hours a week reviewing cases and performing other administrative duties.
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
Libby Woman Denies Animal Cruelty Allegations
A Libby woman pleaded not guilty on Aug. 29 to 17 felony animal cruelty charges in Lincoln County District Court, a month after more than 100 ani- mals were found at her home.
On Aug. 2, the Lincoln County Sheri , Lincoln County Animal Care and Control and the Humane Society of the United States seized 53 dogs, 60 parakeets, six donkeys and three canaries from Cathie Iris Warren’s home on Crossway Avenue.
According to court documents, the animals were in poor health and more than 40 of the dogs had ear infections.
Warren will appear in court again on Sept. 26 for an omnibus hearing. A trial date has not been set.
news@ atheadbeacon.com
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AUGUST 31, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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