Let’s call this a “first impression” post about the Ross Robertson episode of Montana’s routine judicial performance clearing Missoula law enforcement of killing people, known to those of us watching these performative episodes as THE CORONER’S INQUEST.
Like so many of the scripted performances that make up this genre, the result of this one was already a foregone conclusion. Why? Because “criminal means” is an impossibly high legal bar to meet, and County Attorney’s, like Matt Jennings, would essentially be ending their political/legal careers were they to ever seriously attempt to clear that legal bar against a sworn officer of the law.
Luckily, after telling the courtroom on Friday that he knows better to ask a lady cop how much she weighs, I think Missoula’s lead County Attorney, Matt Jennings, may have a shot at being a stand-up comedian were he to ever find himself in need of a career change.
How much does the FEMALE police officer, Makenzie Ranger, weigh?
That’s the question Matt Jennings didn’t ask on Friday. Instead, he turned that unasked question into a joke in order to elicit an answer to that exact same question from the MALE police officer, Joshua Mirabella, who I can say weighs 170 lbs. Here’s why the question of weight matters.
Makenzie Ranger, in sworn testimony from the stand, stated several times that she was afraid of being physically hurt by the MUCH LARGER suspect that she pursued BY HERSELF into a desolate field after responding to an unattended fire at a trailer park.
Ross Robertson, the jury was later told, weighed 275 lbs, which made him an imposing and OBESE adversary when his refusal to cooperate turned physical. Also, his heart was fat–a fact later focused on by Walter Kemp, the Medical Examiner who was brought in by Missoula County to provide his professional opinion on an autopsy that he, himself, didn’t actually perform.
Maybe (the argument goes) if Ross Robertson wasn’t a big fatty with a 520 gram heart (normal dude hearts weigh between 250-350 grams) he would have been able to survive the tackle to the ground, the punches to the head, the taser shots, the spit-hood, and the body wrap that DCI investigator, Edward Thomas “Tommy” Teniente, testified he was, previous to this Coroner’s Inquest, totally unfamiliar with.
Are these wraps really that new to you, Tommy? Because, after a one minute search online, I found the above link about The Wrap and growing concerns about its use.
After 25 years on the market, more than 10,000 WRAPs are in use across the United States and Canada, according to the manufacturer, Safe Restraints. Institutions that use the restraint include police departments, juvenile facilities, hospitals, stadiums and parks, said Charles Hammond, the company’s president and CEO.
Safe Restraints markets the WRAP as “proven to save lives.” However, an investigation by Capital & Main has found that the company’s safety claims are mainly based on anecdotes and a study whose author disputes Safe Restraints’ interpretation of his work.
As the device has become more widely used, lawsuits over in-custody deaths and allegations of torture are emerging, a review of public records shows.
So, what was Ross Roberston ultimately guilty of?
Ross Robertson was guilty of not stopping when a scared lady cop of unknown weight told him to stop.
And he was guilty of being physically large, strong, and intimidating when he said “NO” several times while holding the object he died with, which was a Bible.
And he was guilty of screaming and resisting what was being done to him to “keep him safe” as he repeated phrases, like LORD HAVE MERCY, that will haunt my memory of this particular episode of Coroner’s Inquest.
And what are the cops who killed Ross, like Joshua Mirabella, guilty of?
Nothing, because they did their gosh-darned best.
Josh Mirabella did his gosh-darned best when he tried taking the “element of surprise” for a tactical tackle and “bounced off” the obese schizophrenic holding his Bible, then Lucas Big House did his gosh-darned best by joining the scrum and getting the wild beast to the ground. More cops joined in, like Mitch Lang putting his blue-gloved hands on Ross’ spit-hooded head, and when Ross Robertson went limp the FIRST TIME, the idea of using Narcan was suggested and quickly deployed, bringing Ross back momentarily before he finally died in the vacant field.
There is a sick irony entangled with the geographical terrain where this death occurred that I’ll expound on later, since I’ve long argued that Tax Increment Financing negatively impacts publicly-funded first responders, but for now I’ll just ask WHY we fund things like the Mobile Crisis Unit and STILL can’t put something better in place for a man who was getting ACTIVE mental health treatment from Winds of Change before Missoula police killed him.
It was even known, and directly communicated by Ross’ mother, Patti, ON THE DAY HE DIED via a 911 call that Ross was a diagnosed schizophrenic who had been off his medications for a month. Would that information have changed the approach law enforcement took, or was the escalation of PROTECT LADY COP already set into motion?
If you think I’m being unfair about the scenario I’m describing from seeing the available body-cam footage presented during Friday’s Coroner’s Inquest, perhaps I’ll find a way to get the footage that I saw out to the broader public so locals can see for themselves how Missoula PD can kill you for not immediately complying with their demands.
After the jury found NO CRIMINAL MEANS were used on May 29th, 2024, by local law enforcement regarding how they killed Ross Robertson in a vacant field behind the mall, shouldn’t the public get a chance to see what a well-trained police force can do to YOU or YOUR LOVED ONE if they start acting crazy with some fire and a Bible?
To officially access the information Missoula County is spending tax dollars officially withholding from out-of-state media companies, here’s a screenshot of the online process:
If CCJI is a giant dam holding back stories of Montana’s criminal injustice system from public view, then the vigorous defense coming especially from Missoula County could be evidence that too many cracks in that dam are now spider-webbing from the building pressure, and something is about to give.
THAT is the story I hope to be writing about soon, so stay tuned!
And, as always, thanks for reading.