Last Best News (https://montana-mint.com/lastbestnews/tag/bearcreek/)
A resident of Bearcreek who sued the city of Red Lodge and its former police chief over what she said was an illegal drug raid has dropped her suit and accepted an offer of $25,000 from the defendants. Tiffany McKinney, then 25, filed the lawsuit in February 2016, saying she had been wrongfully arrested and injured during a drug raid that targeted a separate house on the property she lived on in Bearcreek. (more…) Continue Reading →
Red Lodge Mayor Ed Williams announced Tuesday evening that he will be resigning as of June 29, one day before the the official last day of Police Chief Steve Hibler, who announced his resignation on April 6. Williams could not be reached for comment, but Diane Dimich, a member of Red Lodge Community Oversight Representatives, confirmed that the mayor announced his resignation shortly after the start of a 7 p.m. meeting of the Red Lodge City Council on Tuesday. (more…) Continue Reading →
Citing hostility from Carbon County officials and a lack of community support, Red Lodge Police Chief Steve Hibler has resigned effective June 30, the Carbon County News is reporting. The report was posted to the weekly newspaper’s Facebook page shortly after 1 p.m. Wednesday and apparently is based wholly or in part on a press release given to the newspaper earlier in the day by Red Lodge Mayor Ed Williams. (more…) Continue Reading →
A group of Red Lodge residents has formed an organization to provide oversight of city government and to protect the civil rights of people in the community. “Basically what we want to do is, we want first and foremost to work with the city administration in keeping our police department professional,” said Michael Keys, one of the organizers of Red Lodge Community Oversight Representatives. (more…) Continue Reading →
An assistant state attorney general has declined to file charges arising from a drug raid that Red Lodge police officers carried out on a house in Bearcreek. Brant Light, chief of the Prosecution Services Bureau in the AG’s office, also said in a letter to Carbon County Attorney Alex Nixon that he believed the Bearcreek search, conducted by police officers without the prior approval of the Carbon County attorney or sheriff, “was inappropriate.” (more…) Continue Reading →
This morning on Facebook, Gary Robson, the owner of Red Lodge Books & Tea, shared a link to my latest story on the Red Lodge police drug raid in Bearcreek. Gary had some interesting things to say, as always, but what really caught my eye was the ensuing discussion of how the perception of crime in a given community affects tourism. One commenter said there was no effect on visitation after “Billings was called ‘Cranktown USA’ on the cover of TIME magazine.” I already added my two cents on that page, but allow me to elaborate here, because this was, for me, a fascinating experience in charting the invention and cultivation of myths. Way back in 2005, I did a multiple-day series of stories on the so-called meth epidemic in Billings. Continue Reading →
RED LODGE—A woman who said she was unlawfully arrested and injured during a recent drug raid in Bearcreek by Red Lodge police officers sued the city of Red Lodge on Friday, asking for at least $1 million in damages. Red Lodge attorneys A.W. “Tony” Kendall and Raymond Kuntz filed the suit in Carbon County District Court on behalf of Tiffany McKinney against the city, Police Chief Steve Hibler, Officer Greg Srock and three unnamed John Does. (more…) Continue Reading →
