Serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis. © James Conner.
Former Kalispell and now Bozeman city manager Chris Kukulski helped Bozeman’s chief police of police acquire a Fallujah ready Bearcat SWAT vehicle (video below) — without the knowledge of the city council. It was a classic “it’s better to beg forgiveness than ask permission” operation that worked. The pushover city council, with only Mayor Jeff Krauss dissenting, retroactively approved the acquisition.
Kukulski and the police chief alleged the police needed the Bearcat to protect the community from religious and environmental groups, among others:
Krauss also picked apart the grant application, which states the vehicle was needed, in part, because of the presence of militia groups, environmental groups, outlaw motorcycle gangs, religious and racial hate groups. He called it “language of escalation” that does not agree with what he heard from law enforcement officers Monday night about the primary need for the vehicle, which typically involves incidents of lone gunmen.
No Montana police force or sheriff’s department needs this kind of firepower. Or should want it.