On the Job, Blaine County Sheriff's Department and Chinook PD Ready To Protect and Serve

The Blaine County Sheriff's Department and the Chinook Police Department play a vital role in keeping the citizens of Blaine County secure with a place to call home and feel comfortable with going about their daily lives. Volunteer Fire Departments in Chinook, Turner, Harlem, Fort Belknap and the Bear Paws add another level of protection. An active Boarder Patrol along with the Montana Highway Patrol, assistance from Federal and Tribal Agencies as well as neighboring counties when needed takes it one step further.

Certainly nothing is ever perfect but these men and women who fill these departments are members of our small communities and our reservation. They live among us, their kids attend our schools, their families support our local businesses and they provide a much needed service to our county as a whole.

Often times their identities get lost amongst the public, many see them in uniform and just think cop, it's the sheriff, it's the police, but so many don't actually know them as people.

The Blaine County Sheriff is John Colby and most are familiar with his name as he is an elected official. Sheriff Colby is in his first year on the job after previously serving as a Deputy for many years. Colby began his time with the department in 1996. In 1998 he joined the Harlem Police Department, eventually serving as the Chief of Police. After Harlem consolidated their department, John found himself in Williston, North Dakota before relocating back to Chinook in 2010. In between, John helped train Afghanistan National Police while working for the Dyn-Corp in Konduz, Afghanistan. Through the years he has had the opportunity to interact with people all over the county, his wife works here and his kids go to school here.

The Chinook Police Chief is Elmer Zarn and he is a lifelong citizen of Blaine County. Elmer has worked with the Blaine County Sheriff's Department or the Chinook Police Department for nearly 30 years. Elmer has been an active member of the community in various organization for many years and he and his family are known by many.

The Blaine County Undersheriff is Chris Adair and he has been with the Department since 2012. Amongst the many hats he wears within the department he is also the DUI Task Force Coordinator. Chris his wife and their two son's live in Chinook. In being part of many training sessions with the community, from the schools to the nursing homes to the senior citizens, he has fit right in.

Looking at the remainder of the officers in the Sheriff's Department and the Chinook City Police, familiarity with those in the community is less likely. Officers from both departments want to help citizens when needed, use a common sense approach to handling situations that provide the most help to the individual or individuals. Of course when needed they dutifully will enforce the law and make arrests to keep our communities safe.

The Assistant Chief of Police is Kevin Spudic. Kevin came to Chinook in 2017 while he was an officer with the Montana Department of Transportation. He joined the Chinook Police Department in November of 2018 as the Assistant Chief of Police. Kevin has been full time Law Enforcement since graduating from the academy in 2015.

In March of 2019 Michael Cox was hired as a Deputy for the Chinook Police Department. Michael was raised in Alabama and comes from a family with a rich history in law enforcement. Michael is young at twenty years of age, but he is a motivated individual who works hard at his job. He is an active member of the National Guard and will head to the Police Academy either this fall or in January of 2020.

Officer Mohammed Boutkarit is back from the Academy after completing the course in June. Mohammed went to the University of Montana and graduated with a Bachelors degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Criminology on 2016. After volunteering for a number of years in Missoula as a 'Police Support Specialist' he and his wife decided a change was in order.

Mohammed's wife Liz is originally from Chinook and the thought of moving back to be around her family led to his application to be an officer in Chinook.

Mohammed has acclimated himself to the area rather quickly, " I like being a part of this wonderful community. People out here are very friendly and they like Law Enforcement. I enjoy doing investigative work and patrolling and serving this community. I like to hunt and fish and other sports like soccer."

After his academy education Mohammed is ready to go, "After 3 months of training, I am ready to get out there and fight crime and serve the community I swore to protect and serve."

The Blaine County Sheriffs Department has went through a number of changes recently. Sergent Josh Roberge joined the department in January of 2018. Josh previously worked as a Detention Officer in Fort Belknap. He later served as a Police Officer for Fort Belknap Law Enforcement Services until 2018. Josh has extensive training, including active shooter response, basic drug enforcement and basic K-9 handler. He and his wife live in Chinook with their three children.

Will Robb joined the Blaine County Sheriff's Department in January of 2019 and has been an active member of the National Guard since 2010. Will served the City of Chinook as a Police Officer from 2017-2018 and is also a member of the Chinook Volunteer Fire Department. Will, his wife and two children live in Chinook.

Just back from the Police Academy is Deputy Levi Gonzales. Levi's graduation was witnessed by both Sheriff Colby and Undersheriff Adair. Gonzales received added recognition during his graduation, receiving with the Allen Kimery Award. As a result, Deputy Gonzalez was subsequently awarded with a scholarship to firearm instructor training.

Returning to the Blaine County Sheriff's Department is William 'Billy' Minnis. "I'm so very happy to be back and once again serving this great community," said an excited Minnis. A 2009 Graduate of Cut Bank High School Minnis joined the United States Army as an Infantrymen. In 2011, after returning from Deployment, Minnis applied for and took a position as a Detention Officer in Hill County.

"Serving as a Detention Officer for the Hill County Sheriff's Office I learned a lot of great things and was mentored by some great people who lead me to try for a position as a Deputy with Blaine County. In Late 2014 Sheriff Huestis and the citizens of Blaine County welcomed me as a member and put me right to work," added Minnis.

Since that time, Minnis attended numerous training to further his own talents and extend the quality of policing he could provide to the community. His trainings include Drug investigations, ARIDE training in advanced detection of impaired driving, Coroner Basic Course, Desert Snow training in drug traffic interdiction, local and national gang affiliation identification and much more.

In 2018 Minnus applied for and received a job as a Probation and Parole Officer with the State of Montana, "Although I enjoyed the job and everyone I worked with it just wasn't home. After six months I again applied for, and was lucky enough to be given, a job by Sheriff Colby," stated Minnis. "I am so beyond happy to be back and working within this amazing community. I look forward to continuing my education and training so I can continue to provide the best community policing I can."

The Blaine County Sheriff's Department also welcomed Deputy Destiny Hartman to the force. Hartman recently graduated from the Police Academy and is ready to serve the people of Blaine County. Destiny was raised in Cut Bank but does have some previous ties to the area. Her dad lived in Zurich as a child and also attended school in Chinook. "I started my career in law enforcement working as a correctional officer at the Crossroads Correctional Center in Shelby, Montana. I enjoyed that work so much but I wanted to do more on the outside, so I applied for the Blaine County Sheriffs Office," Destiny stated. "I recently graduated the Montana Law Enforcement Academy, where I learned so much more. I plan on using that knowledge to help better the lives of the people in this community. Thank you for being so welcoming and I hope to get to know everyone better."

The Blaine County Sheriff's Department is looking to add one more deputy to the roster but other than that the two departments are fully staffed and ready to serve the citizen's of Blaine County.