by Travis Mateer
I mentioned Mineral County two days ago in this post about a woman doing a classic rant in downtown Missoula. Well, shenanigans continue in this part of Montana, but DO NOT WORRY because the trusty Sheriff, Ryan Funke, is making sure the public knows about the threats his office is responding to.
I was interested in seeing who got arrested for this incident, but Mineral County’s jail doesn’t display inmate information the way Missoula County does, so I didn’t find anything pertinent. Instead I perused the minutes of past meetings where I found an example of what a low-population County in Montana deals with when it comes to things like 911 dispatch.
The Sheriff spoke about how currently dispatch is set up in a horseshoe shape where they can observe around them the windows and separate jail holding areas. The dispatchers are often watching, opening doors for the detention officers, and getting up to answer the public at the walk-up window. The Sheriff feels that this system is becoming a safety issue for people since their time is not solely focused on 911 calls and radio dispatching. There is a national movement to separate dispatch away from jails and be managed under the DES coordinator, not the Sheriff. And he feels Mineral County should also remove dispatch from under the law enforcement building and into its own work environment. Scott Dodd said at this time the only real request being made is for a lateral transition of managing dispatch personnel from the Sheriff to DES, currently no funding for a full transition with a new building is available. Jerry Doktor spoke how DES doesn’t really have that much money and the prospect of even a future building or new employee positions. Sheriff Funke replied that dispatchers would still be paid, but under the DES oversight manager, and that the only new employees needed would be for a Detention officer who only opened the doors and disseminated the daily medications for inmates. This employee would be needed to replace dispatch who currently runs the entry doors for detention officers to move throughout the jail at meal time and medication dispensary times. Commissioner Zylawy clarified that the request today was only for new management and oversight of dispatch employees: not increased pay, not new positions, and not a new building.
Yes, that’s right, Sheriff Funke wants to offload 911 dispatch duties to Disaster and Emergency Services while he hires a Sheriff Deputy to open a door and hand out meds. Really? Does that mean the County Attorney’s Office has finally got that investigator they so sorely needed? Because I would hope THAT would be a priority before hiring a door-opener and med-distributor for the Sheriff’s Office.
For more entertainment, remember when Don Junior said EVERY elected office is important, even DOG CATCHER? Well, here’s a Sheriff Funke idea about dog catching I found intriguing:
Great idea, Ryan! Especially considering you have a man in your County by the name of David Barsotti who tends to SHOOT dogs that give him trouble.
If you find this County in Montana to be as fascinating as I do, then check out some of my other posts, you won’t be disappointed:
If Mineral County Sheriff, Mike Toth, Went Missing, Would Anyone Notice? (March 6th, 2022)
The Race For Mineral County Sheriff (June 7th, 2022)
How Many Sheriffs Does It Take To Release An Autopsy? (August 2nd, 2022)
Was The Writ Of Mandamus A Ploy To Destroy The Candidacy Of A Political Outsider In Mineral County? (October 27th, 2022)
The First Reports Of A Prisoner Suicide Inside The Mineral County Jail (November 27th, 2022)
What The Funke Is That Disparaging Smell, Ryan? (January 10th, 2023)
Serious Question For An Unserious County Government: Does David Barsotti Have Rabies? (January 27th, 2023)
Who Dares Challenge Their Hero Narrative? (March 22nd, 2023)
Introducing Zoom Chron Readers To Mineral County Commissioner, Roman Zylawy (March 24th, 2023)
Mineral County Is At War With Itself, Assisted By A Law Firm Specializing In Money Shakedown Schemes For Badges Across Western Montana (April 21st, 2023)
Why Are Two Sheriff Offices Now Failing To Call Me Back Or Acknowledge Any Investigation In The Death Of Joey Thompson? (May 28th, 2023)
Mineral County: The Fucked Up Western Gateway To The Failed State Of Montana (April 10th, 2024)
If you find this context about our little fucked up gateway to western Montana valuable, then please consider supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). My current need is to fix my flat tire, which has stranded my Trash Truck on Higgins, so help a journalist out!
And, as always, thanks for reading!
The idea of making the volunteers auxiliary workers mirrors other states which have some version of the statute he cited. But that is is intended for folks who respond to incidents pursuant to a callout by an agency within the ambit of the statute. In Oregon, such persons are called “Emergency Services Workers.” I was an ESW for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office for 25 years, responding to provide ground search and/or communications support during search & rescue incidents, typically in and around Mt. Hood. I likewise was an ESW for the City of Oregon City, as well as Oregon State Police Office of Emergency Management. Typically, ESWs belong to groups having a Memorandum of Understanding with the served agency. Oregon ESWs likewise have workers comp…but it’s based on reserve funds and I can’t recall the last time there were actual funds to pay workers comp to injured ESWs. The relevant political subdivision’s insurance would cover injuries and property damage to ESWs incurred in the course of providing volunteer response services; this also covered claims against an ESW not arising from grossly negligent, reckless or willful & wanton conduct.
Again, these statutes are not intended for routine duties of the public agency, but rather for the protection of trained and registered volunteers responding to emergency incidents by request of an agency. Researching the legislative history of the MCA provisions would shed light on the specific intent of the MT statute.
What he probably doesn’t know, is that with regard to liability, there is a federal law known as the Volunteer Protection Act, which immunizes from negligence lawsuits, volunteers for government agencies acting within the scope of their authority, as well as providing the same immunity to such volunteers for non-profits that provide services otherwise provided by governments.
Without data concerning 911 call answer times & response times, and data re meds & prisoner movement, I wouldn’t venture comment on the reasonableness of his ask, beyond saying he’s correct that the County risks liability by being out of compliance with standards generally accepted in that realm, in the event that an inmate or county resident were to suffer injury or death as a result of such non-compliance or due to failure to adequately staff 911 and/or the jail. It’s a very bad idea to designate a 911 employee as distributor of inmate meds, or to have 911 workers dealing with doors, etc. An RN should be distributing meds! Mineral County folks are probably averse to hiring a person in order to address this problem. All I can say, is they will get what they deserve when this situation results in serious harm or death.
Just about every city in the US inadequately funds emergency management. Missoula has good people in county Disaster & Emergency Services, but their staff is insuffient in number (a common problem). They often are out of town supporting other jurisdictions. This is something that needs to be fixed.
Given that an emergency was declared re our unhoused population, it would be appropriate for Msla to utilize “force multipliers” such as CERT, Coast Guard Auxiliary, etc. to perform to perform some of the functions attendant to the emergency, as volunteers. I have been beating that drum for five years, only for it to fall on deaf ears on the City Council.
Thank you for your insights, Mr. Hunt. The jail had a fatality in 2022, and the County has not scheduled a Coroner’s Inquest yet. What do you think of that? https://nbcmontana.com/amp/news/local/inmate-found-deceased-in-mineral-co-idd