St. Ignatius chief position brought under scope

ST. IGNATIUS — St. Ignatius mayoral candidate John Wayne Mitchell asked current mayor Charley Gariepy at a town meeting last week, why he “misled the city council, and really…misled the citizens of St. Ignatius,” in conjunction with the employment of P.D. Van Hoose as acting police chief.

In his prepared statement before the city council during the last regular meeting, Mitchell — who said he was acting as a private citizen, not a political candidate — accused Gariepy of ignoring letters sent in early May by Wayne Ternes, head of the Police Officer Standard of Training Council, in the continued employment of Van Hoose.

According to letters sent from Ternes and the POST Council to Gariepy, “Mr. Van Hoose has no powers of a peace officer in the state of Montana.”

Ternes said last week Van Hoose never completed training required for all peace officers under Montana Code 7-32-303, which states that peace officers must, within one year of initial appointment, complete an appropriate peace officer basic course certified by the Montana POST Council.

Gariepy filed paperwork in May alerting the POST Council to Van Hoost’s reappointment as police chief following the departure of former police chief Jerry Johnson. Johnson left St. Ignatius for a better-paying job in Sanders County.

Gariepy said Van Hoose was never the official acting police chief after Johnson resigned. Van Hoose, he said, never wore the chief’s badge and the citizens of St. Ignatius called him “chief” because of his former position.

Van Hoose was originally hired as the police chief in April of 2004.

Ternes said, in accordance with state code 7-32-303, Van Hoose had one year from his initial hire to complete the basic peace officer training. After one year, Van Hoose still had not completed the training and St. Ignatius applied for a 180-day extension, which was granted.

In October 2005, after the 180-day extension, Van Hoose still had not completed the required training.

“This was an issue clear back then,” Ternes said. 

Van Hoose retired on July 31, 2007.

However, from October 2005-July 31, 2007, Van Hoose was not acting under any powers of a peace officer according to the POST Council, Ternes said.

Any arrests or citations by Van Hoose during that time, as well as during his most recent service, could be called into question, Ternes said.

In his most recent stint with the St. Ignatius police department, Van Hoose, Gariepy said, was a reserve officer and fulfilled all the requirements of that position.

During the same meeting, Gariepy nominated officer Shay Clarmont as the new police chief and requested the council to ratify his motion.

Council member Marine Johnson asked Gariepy why he was pushing the ratification through the council.

Gariepy said they’d known for months this decision was coming and that Clarmont was the only choice. St. Ignatius’ second POST certified police officer is currently in the academy and will be finished on Dec. 15.

Johnson said the council hadn’t known for months and motioned to suspend the decision pending further review of Clarmont’s file.

Council president Rod Arlint said he didn’t like the feeling of someone being forced through.

Johnson moved to suspend the motion of ratifying Clarmont’s appointment.

Later in the discussion, Clarmont, who was in attendance at the meeting, asked Johnson if she “had a problem with” him because of her hesitance to ratify him as police chief.

Johnson said she didn’t have a problem with Clarmont, but she did have a problem with “being guilted into making a decision” she had no previous knowledge of “in front of 50 people.”

Ultimately, the decision to ratify Clarmont as the town’s chief of police was tabled for several weeks pending the council’s ability to review Clarmont’s file.

Other agenda items of the evening included a review of the town’s audit for the 2008 fiscal year and how to spend $1, 487. 09 of the remaining stimulus money after completing the trails around St. Ignatius.

Final decision regarding the stimulus money will not be made until the projects already using stimulus funds are completed.