Watne sentenced for obstructing officer

Saying that public officials "always have to be beyond reproach," Justice of the Peace David Ortley on Thursday sentenced Flathead County Commissioner Bob Watne.

He fined Watne $360 and gave him a six-month suspended sentence for obstructing a police officer. He also ordered Watne to be law-abiding for the length of the suspended sentence.

Watne was charged with assault or, in the alternative, obstructing an officer, and entered a no-contest plea to obstructing. The charge arose after a dust-up on Panoramic Drive on April 5 at the home of his then-fiance, Beth Benjamin, when her barn burned. Firefighters called for law-enforcement help after a confrontation with Benjamin. Sheriff's deputy Bill Emerson responded.

Benjamin, who has since married Watne, was charged and has been sentenced for assaulting Emerson after he ordered her to stay away from the burning building. Watne was also charged for his physical contact with Emerson.

In court Thursday, Watne disputed pushing Emerson or grabbing his arm, as court documents allege.

"The only thing I did was touch him," Watne said.

His attorney, James Bartlett, said "Any human being under the same circumstances would have reacted the same way." He maintains that Watne intervened on Benjamin's behalf, warning Emerson that Benjamin had vertebrae fusions and injuries from a broken neck and back. Emerson tore Benjamin's rotator cuff when he handcuffed her, Bartlett alleges, and Watne was only coming to her aid.

Ortley was dubious.

He said he has found Emerson to be "one of the kindest, most gentle law-enforcement officers you could encounter."

He pointed out that as commissioner, Watne is essentially Emerson's boss, which put Emerson in a difficult position that day.

"It's difficult for me to square your having put Mr. Emerson in that place. His job is difficult enough," Ortley said.

He told Watne that while his position as a county commissioner didn't affect his sentence, "The fact remains, the public expects more of us than public citizens."

That echoed statements from Dusty Deschamps, a former prosecutor from Missoula who was called in to prosecute Benjamin and Watne so there would be no conflict of interest for the Flathead County Attorney's Office.

"To the degree he is a public official, I think he lives in a glass house," Deschamps said. "Mr. Watne is a public official. Mr. Watne is someone the community looks up to as setting an example."

That example is not unblemished, though, he said.

"He has had several brushes with law enforcement during his career as a public servant," Deschamps said. They include DUI convictions in 2001 and again in 2002.

He asked for a sentence of the maximum fine of $500, but said there is no value in giving Watne a suspended sentence or requiring him to report to a probation officer.

Deschamps also asked Ortley to order Watne to write a letter of apology to Emerson. Bartlett objected to that, saying the criminal code calls for no such penalty.

Ortley decided not to ask for such a letter, saying it would be impossible to know whether an apology came from Watne's heart. Deschamps had asked for a similar letter from Benjamin and Ortley denied that, also.

Ortley sentenced Benjamin earlier this month after a jury convicted her of assault, resisting arrest, and obstructing an officer in the incident. Ortley deferred imposition of sentence for six months on the charges of assault and resisting arrest; they will vanish from her record if she has no more charges. For the charge of obstructing an officer, he gave Benjamin a six-month suspended sentence and fined her $560.

Bartlett asked for the same consideration for Watne, requesting a six-month deferred sentence.

Deschamps opposed deferral of any sentence, saying that Watne's prior convictions should have put him on notice that, "If he breeches the law, he should expect bad things are going to happen."

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com