"Last week, officials from Glacier County and the Blackfeet Tribe embarked on an endeavor intended to provide better law enforcement for their communities.

A fully reciprocal cross-deputization agreement will allow Glacier County Sheriff's Department deputies and the Blackfeet Tribal Department of Public Safety deputies to enforce laws in what previously had been areas out of their jurisdiction.

"We need better law enforcement to create a community that is safe and wholesome, where people can move about freely without being victimized or terrorized," said Blackfeet Tribal Chairman Willie Sharp when the agreement was signed at the Blackfeet Tribe's offices in Browning on Thursday.

Notably absent from that event were Glacier County Attorney Larry Epstein and Glacier County Sheriff Wayne Dusterhoff.

They have expressed concern about the agreement. The Montana Association of Counties council echoes their worry that the agreement opens the county up to too much liability exposure.

Another snag is that there is a limit to the number of Glacier County Sheriff's deputies that will be cross-deputized."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Tribe, county pact needs more input from legal team (The Great Falls Tribune 8/11)

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