Outgoing Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir said his official goodbyes to well-wishers at a farewell coffee on Thursday, December 19 in the basement of city hall.
It's a phenomenon Missoula Police Chief doesn't understand, that is why reports of sexual assaults have soared since the city signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, who took the city to task on the subject in an investigation that lasted nearly a year.
A group of Missoula police officers were singled out for special commendations Thursday evening in the city council chambers, including officer Deni Poling, who was run over by a fleeing suspect and gravely injured on January 7, 2013.
On January 7th, Missoula police officer Deni Poling was badly injured after being run over by a car driven by a suspect trying to escape arrest on a probation violation. Chief Mark Muir said this week that Poling has returned to work on a limited basis.
Missoula police officers have been placed in harm's way several times in the past year, and the City of Missoula will honor these officers in two separate ceremonies in May.
The Missoula Marathon, recently praised by Runner's World magazine as the best marathon in America, may have more security after the fatal bombings Monday afternoon at the Boston Marathon.
On May 1, 2012 the U. S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division arrived in Missoula to look into how the University of Montana, the County Attorney's Office and the Missoula Police Department were handling reports of sexual assaults.
Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir received a memo Thursday afternoon clearing Lieutenant Richard Stepper of any wrongdoing for using deadly force in the case of Dawnette Eaton.