Sheriff McDermott Expresses Support for Missoula Police Budget

The Missoula City Council is considering the proposed budget for the Police Department, and it has reportedly received numerous emails asking that spending be reduced.

Missoula County Sheriff T.J. McDermott recently posted a message of support on Facebook for the Missoula Police Department and its new Chief Jaeson White.

'The role and responsibility of police officers in Missoula is a great one. I am truly thankful for the brave men and women who have chosen to call Missoula home and the professionalism and care in which they serve every day. Now more than ever, it's important that those men and women who wear the badge and willingly put their lives on the line every day know they are supported by those in the community they serve.
One way to support public safety in Missoula right now is to take the time to e-mail the Missoula City Council and share the importance your local law enforcement is to you and request they approve the police budget as submitted by Chief White and supported by Mayor Engen.
Please share this post with your friends and e-mail your comments to council@ci.missoula.mt.us before August 26th.
Thank you!!
TJ McDermott'

“I've read the articles in the media regarding the police budget that was submitted by the Chief, supported by the mayor to the council, and then learned about a very small number of folks who wrote to the council asking them to defund or reject the police budget, and so I believe the majority of people in this community fully support the efforts of our law enforcement officers,” said McDermott.

He referenced the message on his Facebook page supporting he fellow law enforcement agency.

“I wrote a post on my Facebook page,” he said. “I shared it with all my friends in support of our police officers and ask people to reach out to the council as well and request that the council approves the police budget as submitted by the Chief and supported by the Mayor.”

McDermott said he understands that as a law enforcement officer, it’s vital that he knows he has the support of the public.

“Things are constantly changing in the law enforcement arena,” he said. “Training is very important, and part of the budget that was submitted by the police was for some additional training, and that's one of the main reasons why I support it. I believe others do as well, because we want to have very highly skilled, talented and trained law enforcement officers serving this community. As you can imagine, being a police officer or a sheriff's deputy is a very challenging, difficult, and sometimes dangerous job. But really now more than ever, it's important that our officers know that they're fully supported by their government leadership, their administration and by those members of the community that they protect and serve. Imagine you doing your job working in a patrol car and how important it is for those folks to know that they have our support. I do support them, and I'm proud of the work they do, and I know that our community does as well.”

Attached is a link to the request for training in the City Budget for 2021.