Getting police chief top priority in St. Ignatius
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ST. IGNATIUS – Townspeople are not happy as police response times lag and a stray dog problem continues to grow in St. Ignatius as the town enters its fifth month without a police chief.
After listening to several people speak about various problems at the Town Council’s May 5 meeting, Mayor Charley Gariepy said most of the issues revolve around getting a new chief in place. The town’s last chief died in mid-December 2014, quickly and unexpectedly from cancer. The chief had served a few months, and was the latest in a revolving door of law enforcement personnel that have filtered in and out of the one or two-man department over the past decade.
The position was advertised over the past couple of months, but candidates were sparse. One candidate called Gariepy every Monday morning about the position, but the council wanted to hold off on hiring until it could explore whether it might be more cost effective to outsource the department to the county sheriff’s department. But after a month of waiting for numbers, Gariepy said people are fed up and ready for the town to hire someone.
“I’ve gotten nailed hard this last couple of weeks,” Gariepy said. “It ain’t you guys who are getting blamed. It’s me. I’m the dirty rotten S-O-B who won’t hire a cop, but my hands are kind of tied in this … I can’t just say I’m going to hire somebody and do it.”
The council directed Gariepy to try one last time to get cost estimates from county officials, and if that attempt was unsuccessful, to make a move on hiring the police chief.
Townspeople voiced their displeasure with the status quo, in which one part-time officer covers the town, mostly on weekends.
“Eight days ago, I turned in my house being broken into and robbed,” resident Shawn Wheeler said. “I’ve yet to see response, and obviously it’s because we don’t have a town cop. County came out and spent about 10 minutes and basically said that the town had jurisdiction. He said they might call you in a day or they might call you in five.”
Resident Bea Eder showed council members pictures of injuries recently incurred when she was rushed by a vicious dog. She now carries pepper spray and a big stick to protect herself. She said she’s been through a couple cans of the spray in the past few weeks.
Danielle Rochte gave the council a letter describing another incident where she was charged by a vicious dog. She told the council she carries a taser to protect herself now.
“I love my town, but I shouldn’t have to be afraid to walk its streets,” Rochte wrote. Rochte said she’s lived in the town for seven years, and the dog issue was minimal when a dog catcher was employed.
But Gareipy said the dog catcher ended up costing more than the town’s police officer, and that was not financially feasible.
Town council members said the police chief will be instructed to tackle the dog problem first and foremost.
“It’s our number one priority,” Council member Ray Frey said.
Council members did not give an indication of what the future might hold for the part-time officer. Doug Morigeau of the Silver Dollar Bar told the council he believes the officer is targeting his patrons.
“Not everybody that goes there is drinking, and not everybody who leaves the bar is drunk,” Morigeau said. “I don’t want a drunk driver on the road any more than you guys do. I have family, children who are on the highways, too. But just because they stopped in and someone saw their car in front of the bar, and for them to get pulled over, it’s just not fair.”
Gariepy said he has had some feedback about the officer’s performance from the community, but that he has been unable to get in contact with the officer. Town Attorney James Lapotka said he also had not heard from the officer much lately.
St. Ignatius Town Council meets the first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
