HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-7-14 Kirchhoff-the BearcatFrom:Steve Kirchhoff
To:Agenda
Subject:the Bearcat
Date:Monday, October 06, 2014 4:35:49 PM
Dear Mayor and City Commissioners,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the recent acquisition of the Bearcatarmored vehicle.
Like many others in the community, I was and continue to be troubled both by thesecretive manner in which the city took possession of the Bearcat and by thereluctance of the City Manager and Police Chief to acknowledge the gravity of theirmistake in failing to inform the city commission and citizens of this town--for half ayear, it seems--of their acquisition of the Bearcat.
If they are guilty of willfully withholding such information, the Chief and CM need tobe held accountable for their actions. Public censure and disciplinary action of thesetwo men seem appropriate.
Tonight you will no doubt hear many arguments about the benignity of the Bearcat--that it is a "defensive" vehicle; that it poses no threat to the public; that the Bearcathas been used to no ill effect in other Montana communities to defuse potentiallyviolent situations in which responding officers would have been in harm's waywithout it, and etc.
This is not the place to debate the merits of those arguments.
The question right now is whether Bozeman should retain the Bearcat given thesurreptitious method of its acquisition, which involved the (apparently) purposefulhoodwinking of the elected body and the electorate in general. An analogy: If Icatch my child stealing candy I do not think her apology for having stolen it shouldconfer on her the privilege of keeping it.
The CM and police chief stole the public process from the city commission andBozeman citizens. We need to start from scratch and debate the seriousness of theiractions. "Scratch" is restoring the Bearcat to its producer and the grant money backto the Dept. of Homeland Security. Afterward, we can debate merits of a Bearcat,ask citizens to state their views, and re-apply for a Bearcat should the opportunitystill be available.
There are a host of larger issues here bearing down on Bozeman--including policemisconduct in Ferguson, MO, and the role of a "militarized" mindset by police therein their handling of social disturbances. There is the issue of the federal governmentaiding with its grant program local police forces in upping the ante in a nationwide"arms race" that pits an increasingly potent citizenry against police departments. Dowe answer the problems of a gun-crazed society by giving our government morepotent weaponry? Or do we start somewhere else? (MY hunch is, somewhere else.)
There is a lot more to say, and I wish I could be at the meeting to hear it said andbe a part of the debate. It is a weighty issue with many sides to it and I wish you allwell and the best of intentions as you mull over the proper actions to take in thiscase.
Best wishes,
Steve Kirchhoff