Council ends post-Angels police review

By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian
Thursday, June 6, 2001

The Missoula City Council has officially ended its review of what happened when the Hells Angels came to town last summer, although some council members say they've still got unanswered questions they'll pursue by other means.

Police Chief Bob Weaver talked briefly about the use of riot gear, pepper spray and how officers decide to use such tools before Public Safety and Health Committee Chairwoman Jamie Carpenter declared the issue closed. She also removed it from the committee's agenda.

Fellow Ward 2 Councilman Jim McGrath didn't object, but he did say he planned to refer new issues to the committee. He still wanted to discuss how police might have interfered with people's freedom of speech and how the department handles public complaints about its actions.

The council has been intermittently returning to the Hells Angels incident since last August, when Mayor Mike Kadas convened a Citizens Review Committee to analyze what happened when police and citizens clashed in a near riot hours after members of the Hells Angels left the downtown area July 30. About 350 Hells Angels had held a weeklong national gathering outside Missoula, and local law enforcement brought in reinforcements from several other states in response.

The six-member committee issued a report last December commending the Missoula Police Department for managing the threat from the Hells Angels, but criticizing use of body armor, pepper spray and force against people protesting the police tactics.

Weaver issued a response to the report in April. He challenged a number of the more critical issues in the Citizens Review Committee's report, saying officers followed common or reasonable procedures to handle a potentially explosive situation.

On Wednesday, Weaver added that while the outside review had benefits to some parts of the community, he thought the police department suffered from it.

"I'm not in favor of the (Citizens Review Committee)," Weaver told the council members. "Its review sidetracked the department. And the damage done to officers by the CRC is the one thing I really regret. We've been trying to tell them we're not second-guessing them and their decisions, but the report's had that effect."

McGrath said he wasn't trying to confront the police department with his questions. Instead, he noted the department has developed some new rules for handling civil disturbances and he was providing some feedback. In particular, he questioned why the guideline for bringing in protective gear was so brief.

"That's the part where you decide to don riot equipment - which guarantees in most cases an escalation," McGrath said. "The ability to de-escalate is really hard. I think the assessment needs to be a little bit stronger."

Ward 4 Councilman Jerry Ballas challenged that opinion, saying that in a society where people go to great lengths to buckle children into car seats, why shouldn't police officers be trusted to decide when they might need to wear protective gear. Ward 6's Ed Childers added he believed an officer wouldn't put on 10 to 15 pounds of hot, uncomfortable gear if there wasn't a compelling personal safety reason.

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