There were some “news” stories about Montana cops recently that caught my attention, like this one about Missoula sending cops to Bozeman to make sure people in Bozeman were safe as they watched a football game.
Some are calling it the most important football game in Montana history. The Brawl of the Wild 2.0 is this Saturday, and the Missoula Police Department has a message.
“This weekend’s FCS semi-final playoff game will once again bring together two of Montana’s biggest rivals, the Montana Grizzlies and the Montana State Bobcats, as they face off in Bozeman,” said Police Public Information Officer Whitney Bennett. “While the teams battle it out on the field, the Missoula Police Department and Bozeman Police Department are teaming up behind the scenes to help ensure a safe and enjoyable event for everyone attending.”
As part of a mutual aid agreement, Bennett said MPD will send officers to Bozeman on Friday to assist with public safety efforts throughout the city, as this reflects the strong working relationship between their agencies.
“The City of Missoula and the City of Bozeman will share costs associated with the deployment,” Bennett said. “The City of Missoula will remain fully staffed throughout the weekend and capable of meeting all normal operational needs.”
The other story is even more curious to me because it involves celebrating cops in Missoula for doing their job when they scrambled to find a missing woman who apparently tried saving her dog in the river, then drowned. The reason there’s a “news” story is because the dead woman’s Israeli dad has an Israeli soldier buddy who made wood plaques that some terrible customs people made holes in.
“As a gesture of gratitude, Danit’s father, Simon Ehrlich, shared a personal connection that led to an extraordinary act of kindness,” Bennett said. “Simon, who is Israeli, served in the Israeli military alongside Samuel Zohar, a lifelong friend. After hearing Simon describe the support shown by the Missoula Police Department and Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, Samuel hand-crafted wooden plaques in Israel to honor both agencies.”
During shipment to the United States, the plaques were detained by U.S. Customs and were drilled for security purposes, resulting in damage.
“Upon receiving them, the Missoula Police Department contacted A Carousel for Missoula’s Pony Keepers, the volunteer artisans who develop and maintain the Missoula Carousel,” Bennett said. “Ron Larson, a 15-year Pony Keeper, generously repaired the plaques, donating his time and expertise at no cost. To honor Danit’s memory and the collective efforts surrounding this incident, the Missoula Police Department will display a plaque, along with photographs documenting the damage and a brief description of the repairs, within the department.”
Bennett said this display will serve as a lasting reminder of Danit, the community’s support, and the appreciation many have for the work performed by first responders and assisting agencies during difficult and emotionally challenging circumstances.
The role of a lawman in another dead woman’s case should get new scrutiny after Judge Vannatta stopped protecting Ryan Funke and the Mineral County Sheriff’s Office from sealed documents in the long war that the Sheriff’s Office has been waging against the County Attorney’s Office. For my perspective, this article I published in May of 2024 has a dozen links to additional coverage I’ve provided about Mineral County over the last few years.
I’m not going to get into the details with this post about the current disclosures coming from Mineral County yet, not three days before Christmas. Instead here’s a local article from four years ago that gives some general impressions on what being a Brady Cop means:
We’ve seen enough police procedural shows to get the basic premise of discovery or the exchange of information between two attorneys involved in a court case. It is particularly critical when a prosecutor’s case hinges on a law enforcement officer’s testimony.
That’s where the Brady List comes in. It’s basically a collection of police officers with credibility problems. Being able to access it could determine whether you get a fair trial.
Yes, there are definitely cops in western Montana with credibility problems, but holding those cops accountable is one of the most impossible actions to take because they ARE the law. To give readers a hint of what I will be writing about at greater length soon, here’s the book I just finished reading and the contents are EXPLOSIVE regarding the corruption I’ve been investigating since the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office euthanized Sean Stevenson and murdered Johnny Lee Perry.
My main challenge is integrating quotes from this book into MY book, which I’m currently revising. I just wish the email on the inside of the book cover didn’t appear to be non-functioning.
Here’s a blurb from a weird books-for-inmates website where this book is available (Missoula locals can pick it up at Book Exchange):
In the mountain town of Whitefish, accusations flew between a controversial tech tycoon and a Marine Corps veteran with a shadowy past. The one-time friends had created Amyntor Group, a mysterious Montana business with global ambitions. Multiple investigations surrounding the two men and their company produced shocking allegations about fraud, sex, crooked cops, the Trump White House, and the CIA. When the dust settled, dozens of journalists, lawyers, business leaders, and government officials were left wondering whether any of it was true.
When I heard rumors that Johnny Lee Perry’s girlfriend had a dad who supposedly worked for the CIA, I wrote it off as absurd street talk. Now I’m not so sure.
Writing critically about local law enforcement and their extensive abuses of power while other media outlets publish puff pieces–all while that body found on November 14th down the Kim Williams trail has STILL not been publicly identified–is a lonely and NOT lucrative endeavor, so I was feeling pretty sorry for myself on Friday night as I grocery shopped in sweat pants. When a woman asked if I was Travis, then gave me a $100 dollar cash donation, I stammered something so as not to be totally speechless, then walked home with leaky eyes.
So thank you, readers of Zoom Chron, for the continued support. Next year will mark a full decade of blogging at this site, and 16 years overall. When I finish revising my manuscript, get ready to reassess what you think you know about this humble little college mountain town!