by William Skink

A compelling little side-drama has emerged from the latest trials and tribulations of Griz Nation. Let me set the scene.

It’s a dark and stormy Halloween night. The Griz got slaughtered by Portland State 35-16, and instead of quietly meditating on this failure on the field, a few Griz players decide to attend a party where quite possibly alcoholic drinks are being served.

This is when an angel of temperance enters our dark drama. Her name is Courtney Reep, and she has admirably designated herself as a responsible driver, dropping off the collegiate losers at a house party to, you know, party. Courtney only stays for like 10 minutes, then goes home to await the call so she can spread her wings and drive these wayward Griz football players home. Alas, when she arrives, it’s just minutes before the cops descend.

Somehow the cops weren’t able to quickly determine that Courtney is a privileged white girl with good grades and a lawyer daddy, so one can only imagine the trauma Courtney suffered by being arrested and booked into our very crowded jail. From the link:

Reep, dressed in pajamas and not in costume, was handcuffed and arrested, despite protestations on her behalf by the four men, who told police that she was the designated driver who had just arrived to pick them up.

“(The officer said) my first mistake was entering this house and told me to turn around and he put handcuffs on me,” she said. “I was crying and shaking.”

She said her explanation was ignored by the police, and 45 minutes after arriving at the residence, she was booked into the Missoula County jail. The men who were arrested with her were booked hours later. Van Ackeren was booked at 5:19 a.m., Counts at 5:22 a.m., John Schmaing at 5:47 a.m., and Tomlinson at 6:18 a.m.

She was bailed out hours later on a $50,000 bond, posting a non-refundable $5,000.

Jasper said the experience with police and at the jail has traumatized the University of Montana senior, who has a 3.5 GPA and plans on being a nurse. He said he is curious about why she is being charged with the same crime as her friends, who she was picking up.

Courtney Reep may feel traumatized, but at least she’s well represented, legally (Jasper is her daddy’s colleague) and she’s got a winning pedigree (not to mention a nice photo in the Missoulian standing resolute before the County Courthouse). She’s also white, which always helps when it comes to the criminal justice system.

It may be jarring for privileged white people to be treated like some second class citizen, but one can always look on the bright side: if Courtney was black, her chances of being shot and killed by either the property owner or police would be much higher.