A relatively quiet New Year's Eve in Libby

The night started with what seemed like, to an inexperienced observer, an innocuous enough call. A local woman contacted dispatch to request a welfare check on her sister, whom she believed was having some sort of medical issue, possibly a stroke.

“These are some of the most dangerous calls we go out on,” sheriff’s department Sergeant Brandon Holzer explained. “We knock on someone’s door late at night, they’re possibly having some sort of episode, maybe they’re drinking, maybe they’re having medical or emotional problems. If they don’t hear us announce ourselves as police we can find ourselves facing a pistol when they open the door.”

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case on New Year’s Eve. After some confusion with the address and calls back and forth between the woman, the sister and police dispatch, the woman was located. Although she refused to open the door and speak with officers, dispatch was able to contact her by phone and determine that she was safe.

Sheriff Roby Bowe, who was also out on patrol for the night, decided Holzer and dispatch had done as much as possible to ensure the woman’s safety. “If she refuses attention and we don’t have a solid reason, there’s nothing else we can do,” Bowe said.

“You have to watch the sheriff,” Holzer said jokingly. “He’s a call-poacher. He’s always out here, always working.”

Perhaps it was the cold, perhaps it was the unusually high level of law enforcement traffic on the road, perhaps people are starting to learn that New Year’s Eve is not a good night to drive while intoxicated. Whatever the reason, the streets were quiet as Holzer patrolled Libby.

That quiet was interrupted at 1 a.m., with a 911 call about a domestic disturbance. A party had taken a turn for the worse when an 18-year-old man allegedly shoved his girlfriend. A neighbor intervened and the situation escalated, resulting in the 18-year-old being struck and requiring medical attention.

Holzer was first on the scene, closely followed by another deputy and then by Sheriff Bowe. Several young women were in the driveway, along with the 18-year-old and the neighbor.

Due to the visible injuries, deputies contacted Libby Volunteer Ambulance and medical assistance was dispatched to the scene. After providing first aid, the ambulance crew transported the individual to Cabinet Peaks Medical Center.

Holzer, after allowing a bit of time for the patient to be admitted and checked, followed. “I need to let this guy know not to go back to that house tonight,” he said. As he returned to the patrol vehicle he said the 18-year-old decided not to press charges for assault.

There was not enough evidence at the scene to justify an on-site arrest, so deputies will file their reports with the county attorney, who will then make the decision as to filing charges and possible prosecution.

As Holzer’s shift was coming to an end another deputy was rolling into Libby, transporting a man who had been arrested for driving under the influence in Eureka. “Do you want to see the processing part?” Holzer asked.

The deputies pulled into the parking lot on the north side of the courthouse building, where detention officers were waiting to take custody of the detainee. The man was escorted into an area called the sally port, where secure doors lock on both sides. Holzer checked his sidearm into a secure lockbox while two detention officers conducted a pat-down of the detainee.

The detainee was then escorted into a dressing room and instructed to change into jail clothes, or “dress in,” in jail parlance. At that point the detainee became belligerent, shouting at a male detention officer and refusing to change.

“Sir, it’s policy here, you can’t wear street clothes in jail,” the detention officer patiently explained as the detainee continued to shout obscenities.

“I need another officer in here,” called the detention officer. Holzer responded immediately and the situation rapidly de-escalated and the detainee changed into jail clothes without further incident.

The detainee then refused to remove an earring, claiming that the only way to take it out would be to rip it out of his ear, tearing the earlobe in the process. Detention officers confirmed with the detainee that he would not or could not remove the earring before using snips to safely cut the jewelry and remove it from the detainee’s ear.

“These people are the heart and soul of what we do,” Holzer said in reference to the detention officers. “They put up with it all and are always professional and patient. They deal with detainees day in and day out, putting up with stuff that would make most people want to throw punches.”

“It was a quiet night tonight,” Holzer said. “That’s bad for you, in the media, but it’s good for us. Any day you go home is a good day.”

The Western News would like to thank Sergeant Holzer, Sheriff Bowe and the rest of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department for their courtesy and cooperation.