Officers discuss shootings, community relations and the media

Havre Police Department officers sat down Wednesday afternoon to talk about recent police shootings, community relations and the media.

Captain Bill Wilkinson, Assistant Chief Jason Barkus and Chief Gabe Matosich have a total of 62 years at the police department between them. If experience were commensurate with height, Captain Wilkinson would have at least a decade more in experience.

Matosich spoke up first, saying the shooting of the police officers in Dallas July 7 "devastated us."

"It was an unbelievable event that you wouldn't think would ever happen," he said.

Barkus said it was a surprise - and that it wasn't.

"We've seen it within Montana, officers getting ambushed. Was it a surprise? Absolutely," Barkus said. "But there's always something there in the back of your mind. We always have to train for the worst. That's just the way it is, unfortunately, for the way our jobs work. But I don't think that anybody could predict that something of that magnitude was going to happen."

Dallas is a city with a population larger than all of Montana, about 1.3 million people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2015 estimate. The officers were asked if there is any chance of something as tragic happening in Havre, population just under 10,000.

"This can happen anywhere, really," Matosich said. "It just takes one person to kind of go off the deep end. Just like some of the active shooters with the school systems - Sandy Hook. If you were to ask them - 'Oh, no, that's not going to happen here' - ask them today. It can happen anywhere."

The Dallas shootings, along with the other more recent police shootings, has affected how Havre officers approach their job. Barkus said officers' senses have been "heightened" - "'cause you never know when or if that's going to happen."

People talk about bad cops when the subject of police shootings and shootings of police comes up.

Matosich agreed with people who say there are bad cops.

"There can be a bad cop in bigger agencies," he said. "But that's why today we do such thorough background investigations and the hiring process is so extensive."

Matosich said candidates undergo intensive psychological and physical exams. He said the process encompassing the time an opening is advertised to the time it is filled is long and arduous.

Programs designed to help all officers deal with the stresses of the job on a continuing basis also exist.

"An officer, through the course of their career - they're going to see a lot of bad situations and deal with a lot of bad situations," Matosich said. "They have to stay mentally sound, so you have to do your best to help your officers as they continue their career."

Wilkinson chimed in to help explain what officers may go through during intense scenarios the public sometimes sees on TV.

"When (someone is) resisting an officer, a lot of times, your weapon is exposed. And if they have a weapon, you have to concentrate on keeping yours and keeping them away from theirs," Wilkinson said. "And as it escalates, you're talking to somebody else - 'Gun! He has a gun!' - you're going to react to that. You don't know, in the emotion, if your partner is yelling that or if that's somebody else."

Most people don't know how quickly things happen in a struggle and how quickly an officer has to make a decision, Wilkinson said.

Matosich said the police department puts on a free eight-week academy  that aims to show the public, through mock scenarios, just that.

"It pretty much puts citizens in the shoes of the officers," Matosich said.

The next Citizen Police Academy starts July 27 and anybody with questions can call Barkus at the police station.

The best thing to do if stopped, the officers agreed, is to follow the officer's directions. Safety - the public's and the officers' - is the main concern. If there is still something wrong by the end of the stop, there are options, Matosich said.

"If you still feel there's something wrong, that's when you can come in to talk to the administration and let us know what's going on. That way we can go back and deal with it and handle it and look into it. So if you have an issue, come on in and report it," Matosich said.

Matosich said the idea that there is a code of silence among law enforcement to hide or wipe officers' unethical behavior under the rug  doesn't benefit anyone in the department. He said the code of ethics is ingrained in officers from Day 1, and they go through ethical training every year.

Barkus added that the code of ethics is pure common sense about treating people with respect and dignity and being part of the community.

"We're a part of this community. We all live here. We have families here," Barkus said.

And as for whether  they feel that the community supports and appreciates them, Matosich said the support they receive is "overwhelming" and "truly amazing."  

It's tough being a law enforcement anywhere, albeit some cities have more to deal with within a shorter period of time, he said. But without the support of the community, officers couldn't do their jobs.

After the Dallas police shooting, Matosich said officers received treats, water and cards thanking the department for their service and protection.

Barkus said that kind of outpouring is typical of Havre.

"The Havre community is always extremely supportive in a multitude of things," Barkus said. "But we've always felt like we've had a very good relationship with the community, and we've been able to work together to address issues that affect our community."

Wilkinson touched on why it may sometimes seem like law enforcement is reluctant to give out information to the media.

"A lot of these investigations are very lengthy," Wilkinson said. "There's  a lot of people - when you talk to one, you end up talking to two more, and then you talk to two more. So you don't really have a full grasp right away. In the meantime, the media is demanding to find out what we're doing, and we can't give you that because it's still an ongoing investigation. And the media, oftentimes I feel, don't understand that - don't want to - because they want to get the news out."

For Wilkinson, releasing the right news is more important than releasing news quickly. Releasing information under media pressure - "the media keeps demanding it and demanding it"- is why, sometimes, the information is misleading, he said.

When it comes to the possibility that major media "stokes the fires" of violence, officers agreed it's certainly not out of the question.

"My personal feeling on some of the national media stuff," Matosich said, "is I think you get these copycat crimes. People go home to turn on the TV, and you just see a scene. You really don't get to see anything, maybe just a patrol car, and it's there all day long."

The problem with that, Matosich said, is that the news, however partial, travels faster than the investigation.

"It's a huge rush of judgment there," Matosich continued. "You have to wait for the investigation to get complete because you may only be seeing one side, or a short glimpse of a video. You're not getting the whole picture. ... That video is probably not capturing what led up to that."

But the media has a valuable purpose, they said.

"I think the media is extremely useful in informing the public," Barkus said. "They're an important part of our job. You get information out that we're able to provide to the public at the time so the public knows what's going on. It's extremely important that people know what's going on at the time."

"Public safety," Matosich added, emphasizing the crucial role the media plays in it.

As for how the public and law enforcement can ease any tensions or continue to nurture the good relations in communities where that's the case, Matosich said, "it all goes back to public relations with the community."

"Everybody has to work with one another," he said, "communicate with one another; the department has to be transparent. It's public relations, building that trust with the community, and having the community work with you."

Matosich said it takes the entire community working together to keep the city safe. He said community policing - "when you see something out of the ordinary, report it" - makes it possible for law enforcement officers to do their jobs.

"We break up things way before they even get started because someone may have seen something and reported it. We don't get to hear about that," Matosich said.

The public has many options, they said. On top of the police department, there's the Sheriff's Office, Highway Patrol, Crimestoppers, Homeland Security, and the FBI, Matosich said.

"The FBI has tip line on their homepage, and you can go and report things," he said.

Barkus said the police department strives to have "approachable" officers - it's important that the public and law enforcement have good relationships. Good community relationships equals partners in crime, which makes Havre safer and a better place to live, he said.

"We can't be everywhere at once," Barkus said. "And we don't see everything. So we have to rely on the community to keep us informed."

Matosich said he's been grateful for the public's support in working with the police department.

"Bottom line," he said, "is we're here to protect and serve."