Man who assaulted Polson cop sent to prison after DUI

A Missoula man serving a 10-year suspended sentence for assaulting a Polson police officer in 2018 had his sentence revoked in Lake County District Court on Thursday.

Jason Buckley Welch, 30, pleaded guilty to a probation violation and was sentenced to 10 years with the Department of Corrections.

The terms of Welch’s probation included no alcohol or illegal behavior. Welch was cited for felony driving under the influence in November in Missoula.

Welch testified Thursday that he is a former U.S. Army Cavalry scout who was stationed at Fort Hood. He told Judge Deborah Christopher that he has struggled with alcoholism his entire life, and he is prepared to take responsibility for his actions.

In 2018 Polson police officers responded to a home where a woman reported an intruder claiming to have a weapon was in a crawl space inside her home. The officers asked Welch to come out of the crawl space, but he refused, so they used a Taser on him and eventually detained him after a struggle.

Welch has been incarcerated in Missoula County since his arrest there. He has a plea agreement pending there for five years concurrent to the 10-year sentence he received in Lake County on Thursday.