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Task force targets drug users, sellers

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POLSON — “Is it working? Is it making a difference? Absolutely,” Polson Police Chief Wade Nash said at the July 15 Polson City Commission meeting. 

Nash was talking about the Mission Mountain Drug Task force that began three and a half months ago. A collaboration between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the Polson Police teamed one Polson Police officer, one Tribal Law Enforcement officer and another half-time Tribal officer. 

“We plan on adding a canine to the team by the end of summer,” Assistant Polson Police Chief Clint Cottle said.

Nash also hopes a Lake County Sheriff’s deputy will join the group.

In this short period of time, more than 60 cases have been opened within Polson city limits, 17 warrants have been issued, including search and probation warrants. Officers have been searching for illegal sales of narcotics, and 27 criminal charges for these activities have been filed. 

Drug activity doesn’t just affect the buyer and seller, Nash said. It also affects the hard-working individual. If a person has a high dollar drug habit, he or she may have to steal to support their habit so the number of crimes such as forgeries, thefts and burglaries go up.

It’s a crime that crosses all classes, from white collar to blue collar.

The area had been covered by the Northwest Drug Task Force, but money for that task force dwindled although it’s still active but not locally. The NDTF included officers from every law enforcement agency from the Flathead Reservation north to Canada, including Sanders, Lake, Flathead and Lincoln counties and the all towns in the area. 

The Mission Mountain Drug Task Force is funded through the local law enforcement departments. Nash and Craige Couture, Tribal Law Enforcement Chief, were partners in the NDTF, and their commitment to working together and fighting drugs “just kind of meshed together now that we are both chiefs.” 

Drug activity has steadily increased the last two or three years.

The hard part was not having officers who could devote all their time to drug cases.

“It’s time consuming to build these cases,” Cottle said.

The officers on the task force are gung ho, according to Cottle, and it’s a big commitment. They work long shifts, all hours of the day and night. 

“We’re sending a message to citizens. ‘If you deal drugs or do drugs, we’ll be knocking on your door,’” Nash said. 

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