Stevensville hires new police chief

by John Dowd

     During a special Stevensville Town Council meeting last Wednesday, the council met to vote on the appointment of a new police chief. Before the vote, the mayor provided some background of how the town got to this point, and the process of selecting the best candidate. According to Mayor Bob Michalson, there were 36 applicants for the position, which were eventually whittled down to one. 

     After the background, the mayor introduced the final applicant, John Boe, a former captain for the Chattanooga Police Department, in Tennessee. Boe then stood before the council to further introduce himself. Boe has been a public servant for 33 years, with the vast majority of that in law enforcement. “I’ve had a lot of opportunities to gain experience and now I feel comfortably confident in my ability to fill this position,” said Boe. 

     For him, law enforcement has come as a natural career path. He served in the military and worked with a fire department, but eventually found himself as a police officer. “That’s been my calling, helping people,” said Boe.

     After Boe spoke, the council was invited to ask the applicant questions. One point, brought up by council member Stacie Barker, was the reason she believed the former chief left the position. According to Barker, “The Montana weather had scared them off for whatever reason.” She said this regarding former officers and chiefs, though in further interviews with officers, this was not their understanding of the reason the former chief, or any other officers, left the Stevensville PD. Barker expressed concern that Boe may be unprepared for the weather, having lived mostly in the southern United States. Boe said the weather would definitely not be a deterrent for him.

     Another question posed by newly appointed council member Wallace Smith was about Boe’s plans for engaging with the community. Boe said that he would first need to look at the resources at his disposal, and go from there. However, Boe also said he believes he will have have a hands-on approach similar to that of the former chief, Mac Sosa. Boe plans to get out onto the streets, learn the problem areas and communicate with community members. He will be taking the state officer transition class, hosted by Montana Public Safety Officer Standards and Training (POST), in order to better familiarize himself with the Montana system. He has also been studying the Montana code. 

     Smith also brought up the fact that the cost of living is much higher in Montana. This was an important point, as on top of the cost of living being more, when Boe retired from Chattanooga, he left a position paying more than double what he would be making in Stevensville. However, Boe seemed unconcerned. 

     Boe was voted into the position unanimously. He was also in the process of going through his background check, psychological and physical checks, all of which are required by state law prior to hire. Boe expressed his thanks for the position, saying, “I feel grateful for the opportunity.” 

     In an interview with Boe after he was pledged in, he spoke further about how he ended up in Stevensville. After applying, and beating out several other candidates, he was the only one in the final group to call back. He believes it will be a good change for him, and is excited to get started and to meet more of the public. He has already worked to get out into the community and to meet people.

     Boe talked about how he has a strong background in officer training, and feels that will be a huge asset for him in Stevensville. It likely will, as he is entering the job with very little guidance. A week prior to Boe’s acceptance into the position as chief, the former interim chief, Todd Schafer, along with officer Trevor Frandsen, both turned in their two-week notices. According to Michalson, their resignation notices were turned in Feb. 7 and stated that they would be leaving Feb. 16. 

     According to Schafer, they submitted their notices before the town council meeting on Feb. 8. Breaking with town tradition, the officers were notified over that next weekend, by email, that they should not plan on returning the following week to finish out their time. This was very unusual in that historically, Stevensville officers, and officers of most other departments in the U.S., will stay on to train incoming officers about the area, and possible concerns. This means neither Schafer nor Frandsen will be available to aid Chief Boe in the transition. Additionally, neither officer was even aware of Boe in general, until the special meeting to vote on the mayor’s appointment on Feb. 14 was announced. 

    On top of that, the police department clerk recently resigned, and the last remaining officer, Cassie Kopsa, is attending the police academy until some time in March. This leaves a completely vacant department for Boe to step into.

     The officers leaving will be taking on positions with the Hamilton Police Department. According to Schafer, “They’ve got a good group of guys, so I’m excited to get in there with them and help out.” Though the officers would not comment further on their departure from the Stevensville Police Department, the town has a history of paying their officers the least in the area, along with the longest period to reach retirement. 

     Some light on their decision may be shed by a previous article published by the Bitterroot Star last October. In the article, Schafer mentioned a raise the Missoula Police Department gave to their starting officers. The article stated, “making in some cases over $30 an hour. The lowest he [Schafer] has seen in the area, including other town and city police in Ravalli County, is around $26-$28 per hour. According to town officials during the meeting [Stevensville Town Council meeting],  Stevensville officers receive somewhere in the ballpark of $20 per hour, and a 30-year retirement. This is nearly $10 under the pay other departments are issued, and nearly all other departments have a 20-year retirement.”

     Schafer was not alone in his concern, as the former Stevensville mayor, Steve Gibson, in his final address as mayor, said that the police need to be paid more. Otherwise, he said, he did not believe they should be expected to continue to put their lives on the line. 

     Mayor Michalson told the Star that the town is addressing this concern, having found some money to give officers a raise to $23 per hour. 

     Another unusual note is that the recording of the Stevensville Town Council meeting on Feb. 8, which is supposed to be recorded and posted for the public to view, has a major portion cut out from the beginning. This cut portion includes the section that should have contained the police report. However, according to Michalson, there was no discussion during that meeting on the police officers’ resignation notices. He explained that the internet cut out during the recording and so the beginning was lost. Only ten minutes of that meeting can be viewed on the town’s Youtube channel, where they post their public meetings. It was the mayor’s decision to make, he explained, and he decided that the transition would be cleaner if he simply asked the officers to leave early. The officers were paid until the date they gave as their last day.

     However, despite the apparent animosity, Schafer spoke during an interview after Boe’s appointment, and said, “We appreciate all the support the public has given us the last few years. We hope they forward that to the next chief.” The Stevensville Police Department has been holding several events for the public in order to give back to their community and maintain their positive presence. It is unclear if this will continue under the new chief, as everyone who organized these events is now gone, including the police clerk. 

     Boe plans to immediately start looking at hiring more officers and he is already looking at applications. He may also need to reach out to the county for support in area coverage until Stevensville gets its staff back up to regular numbers. Boe is getting help from former Deputy Joe Marble, who has been brought on with the Stevensville Police Department for 30 days to help transition Boe into the department. Marble has also completed the required checks on Boe.