Graham departs Libby Police Department

Police Chief Scott Kessel noted the departure of a member of his small law enforcement team while giving his regular update to Libby City Council last week.

Libby Police officer Jonathan Graham is leaving the department to take a job at the municipality’s water treatment plant, Kessel said Dec. 6. He will replace Kenny Rayome Jr. at the facility, said City Administrator Samuel Sikes.

Kessel told city councilors that Graham was leaving in good standing. The police chief hopes to keep Graham on in a part-time capacity.

“He wants a more conducive family schedule,” Kessel said of Graham. “He’s been upfront with me about this for about a year. … I’m glad to see him go somewhere where he will still be useful.”

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Graham’s departure will help the department juggle automotive problems. Kessel said that transmission trouble had knocked out one of the agency’s Ford Explorers. With Graham leaving, the department can reassign his vehicle, meaning officers can avoid rotating vehicles, the chief said.

As for other personnel issues, Kessel congratulated officer Ian Smith for representing “the city and the department pretty well at the Christmas event” held on Mineral Avenue the weekend prior.

Kessel also ran city councilors through the department’s operations for the previous month at the Dec. 6 meeting. In November, city law enforcement personnel responded to 177 service calls, made 16 arrests and issued 12 citations. Kessel said he could not make specific comparisons to years prior — the servers containing that information were down — but said his latest figures represented an increase.

“I can tell you our numbers were up from last year,” Kessel said, noting that owing to the pandemic, the department made fewer arrests in 2020.