HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-25-20 Public Comment - P. Balas - Det. Quinn Ellingson •
March 17, 2020
3-ems-�•a��.,
Steve Crawford
Chief of Police
City of Bozeman
615 South 16t'Ave.
Bozeman,MT 59715
RE: Detective Quinn Ellingson
Dear Chief Crawford,
I wanted to let you know what a great job Detective Ellingson recently did in helping my son retrieve a
car that was towed by MCM Truck Repair on Friday, March 6, 2020. My son's car was towed and
MCM was holding the vehicle ransom, demanding $2,600 to get his car back. I initially called MCM to
try and resolve the issue, but they rejected any attempt to negotiate the release for a reasonable cost. I
then contacted the Bozeman Police Department and asked to speak to a detective.
I was put in touch with Detective Ellingson and he returned my call right away. He listened to me
explain the situation, asked for me to email him the invoice from MCM, and let me know he was going
over to the shop to try and resolve the situation. Later in the day when it was clear that MCM would not
release the vehicles, he told me he would call the next day with an update.
The next day my son received a call from the police asking him to meet them at MCM to retrieve his
car. What a relief that was to me and my son- a junior at MSU. Detective Ellingson took action to
retrieve my son's car, and those of other students.
I was very impressed with the quick action Detective Ellingson took to resolve the issue and his
professionalism. Having a son at college 1,000 miles away from home I was feeling a little helpless in
this situation and really appreciate that Detective Ellingson took the time to help resolve the issue. He
clearly viewed the actions of MCM as illegal and made things right with the tools he had available to
him. I am sure there were others on his team that were part of this action, and I thank everyone who
helped.
Sincerely
,
-f
Deter C. Balas
930 Tahoe Blvd., #802-59
Incline Village,NV 89451
Email: heatherhillventuresggmail.com
Tel: 925-895-3895
Cc:
Chris Mehl—Mayor of Bozeman, 121 N. Rouse, Bozeman,MT 59771